A New Dalmatian on the Block
by RyanBrony765
Summary: Now appointed as a new member of Dodger's gang and won Rita's heart, Ryan goes on many exciting adventures, including his upcoming birthday! Meeting old friends and a few new ones, life in his new home maybe well worth it, but living in an old barge, a couple of bad stuff and a run in with a rough gang might change his mind. Cover made by DragonWithAShotgun.
1. Rita and Ryan

**A New Dalmatian on the Block.  
An Oliver and Company fanfic, starring Dodger, Oliver, Francis, Tito, Einstein, Rita, Georgette, Jenny and many others.  
Note: This chapter takes place 3 days after Ryan and Company.**

 **Chapter 1: Rita and Ryan.**

Ryan looked around himself. He was in a fantasy land, full of grassy hills and plains, towering mountains in the distance and most importantly, trains. He chased a local passenger train hauled by a Southern 2-8-2 all the way to a local train yard, full of railroad cars and locomotives. The locomotives ranged from all different types, shapes and sizes, making the Dalmatian wag his tail excitedly. He ran around the train yard until something hit him square in the face.

"OW!" he said, instantly waking up. "I'm up, I'm up!" Ryan groaned as he stretched his legs. He then saw a deflated dodgeball infront of his face and moments later, Einstein's head peeked through the curtains.

"sorry" he said. Before the Dalmatian could reply, the Great Dane rolled the ball out of the curtains and went back to playing with the others. Ryan just smiled. He and Einy were like brothers from other mothers because of their cheerful attitudes and playfulness. Even though the autistic Dalmatian was short tempered sometimes, he can't see how Einstein would make him angry at all. How would he, the Great Dane, make Ryan lose him temper?

Ryan slowly walked out from behind the curtains and yawned loudly. "good morning you guys, and Rita."

"morning Ryan!" Francis, Dodger, Tito and Einstein said, playing with the ball happily. Ever since Ryan being rescued from the Humane Society and nearly being "put to a deep sleep" 3 days ago, the gang respected him more and promised to help him whenever he was in danger. But Rita, who was sitting on Fagin's chair, respected Ryan more than any of the others. With a visit from Ryan's father, she promised never to yell at him again, no matter what. She even allowed Ryan to sleep with her in bed since they were started to date each other and that there was no other place he could stay warm in besides the barrel.

Rita was watching the 4 male dogs played with the ball, stomping all over the place like children. She just shook her head. "what a bunch of over grown men." She looked over to Ryan and smiled, happy to see that he's awake.

Ryan chuckled and walked over towards Rita. She didn't want to be a part of their game, nor did she want to be trampled on by the "over grown men" either.

"good morning Ryan" she cooed at the Dalmatian, blinking flirtatiously at him.

"morning Rita" Ryan smiled back. He looked around and noticed that Fagin wasn't around. He was surprised. Had he overslept? "where's Fagin?"

"he went out" replied Rita, "he probably won't be back until later this evening or so. but you know, we carry on as usual. well, we do while you just probably hang low for a while."

"oh" frowned the Dalmatian. Even though Ryan escaped the Humane Society, the threat of being taken back again was one of his worst fears he hope would never happen again. Thankfully Fagin would sort it out once he had gotten himself a job, but Ryan was still scared.

Rita gave the Dalmatian a playful lick on his cheek. "don't worry, I'll stay here with you of course. there's nothing else for me to do besides stealing stuff as always. plus we can do stuff together and such."

Ryan's spirits lifted. A day with Rita and only Rita was one thing to keep him happy. "sounds like fun!"

The 2 of them shared a romantic kiss before watching the others play their game.

* * *

An hour later, Dodger and the others went off to steal stuff as usual, leaving Rita and Ryan alone together. This was perfect for them. No one can interrupt their romantic "date" and they can do whatever they want. Well... sort of.

"hope there's something good on tv" Ryan said as he flipped through the channels on the tv. He was hoping to find a documentary of trains, but no luck. Disappointed, he decided to watch a show where some ladies were talking about some products that are on sale. Half way through the show, Ryan was as bored as a little kid complaining to his parents. "ugh... I'm so bored Rita. there's not so much to do."

"me too" Rita said from her bed. She was resting in her bed just to keep herself warm and nearly fell asleep from laying in the bed. The female canine walked over towards her new boyfriend, looking a little worn out. "so much for sitting around, huh?"

Ryan sighed and nodded. Trains was one of the things that entertained him the most besides playing ball and so forth. But with the death of his owner, he knew most of the trains he collected would be dumped in a trash can or sold at a yard sale. "It's a shame all of my trains are gone" he said sadly, "that always entertained me, along with videos of trains too such as Thomas the Tank Engine Little Jack would watch with me in the living room whenever that's on."

Rita slowly walked up the stairs out of the barge, going out to get something to eat, leaving Ryan by himself. As the Dalmatian sat in Fagin's chair by himself, he started to think about what he did that made Rita furious at him that one night. Would he really be the perfect boyfriend to Rita? True he had dated his ex girlfriend Tiffany before, but she only wanted him just for attention. He was starting to worry when he heard Rita's voice from up the stairs.

"ohhhh Ryan" she cooed, "look what I found." She walked down the steps, smiling brightly. In her mouth was a Lionel 6200 Pennsy Turbine locomotive covered in a little rust and gunk, but was still in good shape.

Ryan's eyes nearly popped out upon seeing the rusty toy train! "Rita, that's one of Little Jack's trains he had for Christmas!" he said with glee. "thank you so much!" He then kissed Rita's face repeatedly, making her giggle.

"there's another one I found" Rita replied with the train in her mouth. The Saluki then set the train down on the ground beside and walked back up the stairs. Then she came back down with what appears to be the tender that went with the locomotive. The tender, like the locomotive, was a little filthy but still looks good despite the small teeth marks on the top of it, with "Pennsylvania" in white lettering a little visible through the gunk.

Ryan gently pulled the tender away from his girlfriend's mouth and placed it on the ground excitedly. With his tail wagging with joy, he slowly picked the hook up from the back of the locomotive and slid it through the small hole at the front of the tender. The cute Dalmatian panted excited and pushed the engine across the ground, making train noises and howling/whistling softly.

"awwwww" cooed Rita. She thought Ryan looked so cute playing with his train.

The Dalmatian just smiled as he played with his train. "thanks Rita. this is probably one of the best, extremely early birthday gifts I've ever received yet! I could just do this all day."

Rita's eyes shot wide with shock. Ryan's birthday was coming up and she didn't know about it? what kind of friend or girlfriend would not know one's birthday? "wait, you're birthday is coming up?" she asked, surprised.

Ryan nodded happily as he pushed his toy train around his girlfriend. "yeah! next week actually. I'll be a young adult I think! too bad my friends won't be here to see me grow up."

"well" said his Saluki girlfriend, "at least you got us though right?" Rita smiled playfully at her boyfriend, who was still playing with his train. As soon as he stopped pushing his toy train around to get a break, the lovely Saluki tackled him to the ground playfully, giggling innocently. "I love you."

"I love you too Rita!" Ryan replied. The two of them began to tackle each other playfully in the barge, giggling and laughing as they did so. They were happy with each other, that's all it matters to them. Despite the outburst and all the stuff that has happened in the past couple of days between the two of them, they were both very happy.

* * *

By mid-afternoon, Rita and Ryan were all worn out from playing with each other. They were all bundled up next to each other in Rita's bed. It would be a good long while until Fagin, Dodger and the others return home from a productive day, so they might as well enjoy it while it last. The 2 of them were enjoying each other's company more than ever before and were glad they were alone together. Ryan grinned playfully as he snuggled up under his blanket Dodger gave him on his first night with the gang. He peeked his head out from under the blanket and looked up at Rita in a begging pose.

"awwww Ryan, you're so cute" Rita smiled and rubbed her head against Ryan's warmly. The Dalmatian reminds Rita of Oliver like most of the other dogs not only because Ryan is kind, loyal, brave sort-of, smart and friendly, but to Rita's eyes Ryan is cute, funny, playful and very sweet. She cooed at her boyfriend like a mother would do to her baby, "who's a cute Dalmatian? you are! that's right! does a cute Dalmatian want some smooches?" Rita smooched her lips as she lowered her head towards her boyfriend slowly.

Ryan panted happily and hid under the blanket with a grin. "you're gonna have to come and get me!" he said under his blanket.

Rita grinned, knowing her boyfriend was messing around with her. He loves Rita's smooches. They remind him of the kisses Ryan's mother would give to her son when he was a pup and still living with his mom before being left alone in Central Park and eventually be adopted by Little Jack. Rita kept smooching her lips as she peeked under the blanket.

"come on out you silly boyfriend" she cooed sweetly, "I just wanna smooch you. come on, smooch smooch smooch!" The Saluki slowly moved towards her Dalmatian boyfriend, making kissy noises. But before she would kiss him, she stopped all of a sudden with a large grin on her face. "hmmm... maybe I should put on some lipstick on these lips of mine."

Ryan's eyes lit up with excitement as he watched Rita spun around to put some lipstick on her lips. Female dogs normally don't wear lipstick unless they wanted to impress mates or just to tease their love ones. The day after Ryan's rescue, he found a beautiful scarlet red lipstick that he "found" in Central Park and gave it to Rita, who adored the lipstick very much. This would be the first time Rita would use the lipstick, just to flirt with him.

The Saluki soon faced Ryan with her lips covered in scarlet red lipstick. It was still wet, which is what Rita wanted to be so she can leave lipstick marks on her boyfriend. She soon made Ryan lay on his back, smiling flirtatiously. "hmmm... I have a curious question" she said flirtatiously, "how many kisses does it take to make you hallucinate and make you fall deeply in love? let's find out!" Without another word, Rita began kissing Ryan's face slowly, leaving lipstick marks on his face. She counted every smooch on his face as she continued kissing.

* * *

"101... 102..." Rita said later on, kissing her boyfriend Ryan.

Ryan's face was covered in lipstick all over, with his eyes filled with hearts as he felt light headed. He felt like he could fly as he looked at Rita with hearts floating all around. He had been deeply in love after 12 kisses and had barely moved an inch after being kissed on many times.

Rita leaned back to admire her work. "I guess he's already out cold with love! oh well" she smiled. Her ears perked up by the sound of footsteps coming down the steps. She looked out through the curtains and saw Einstein slumping in after a long day. Drool fell from his mouth as he was carrying a broken tennis ball he found.

Einstein smiled happily upon seeing Rita. He walked towards his Saluki friend and sat down with pride, showing her the tennis ball in his mouth. "Look what I found" he said happily.

Rita chuckled. "good show Einstein, something that'll go with your racket."

"you've been here all day with Ryan? I thought you'd be out finding stuff" questioned the Great Dane.

Rita smiled softly and looked back at Ryan, who was still in lala land of love. "I gave Ryan some company so he won't feel lonely or scared. Plus I gave him all the love he deserves."

Einstein looked puzzled. He wasn't really paying attention to Rita and Ryan's relationship after the outburst, even though he saw them kissing the night they saved the Dalmatian from being "put to sleep". "He's your boyfriend now?" he asked.

"mhm!" nodded the Saluki. She began to blush under her fur. The thought of actually having a true boyfriend was out of the question after her experience with David years ago. But with Ryan being her actual boyfriend, she finally gets to know what true love is, even from an autistic dog like him. "He's been my boyfriend for the past day or so after we saved him. true we went through that rough patch, but I think us dating will work out well." _Hope so or else I'll have another meeting with his father._

"are you two gonna have puppies together?!" Einstein asked loudly.

Rita's eyes shot wide and her blush grew bigger than before. She was as red as a stop sign. "what?! No Einstein, we just started dating after all. It takes time to actually go to that level of love, but who knows, maybe we might actually have puppies. I'm not gonna demand for puppies unlike some couple do sometimes."

"awww" moaned Einstein sadly.

"I'm gonna go and get Ryan lunch, would you like to keep an eye on him for me Einy?" Rita asked kindly with a smile. It has been a while since both her and her boyfriend ate lunch due to them having a lot of fun together and she had completely forgotten to get lunch. But she couldn't leave defenseless Ryan alone so she needed someone to keep him company until she would return.

Einstein's eyes lit up once again. "I can do that!" he said with a cheerful smile. He loved Ryan like a brother and always enjoyed his company. He watched as Rita hurried out of the barge and off to find Ryan and herself some lunch.

* * *

 **Please review this.**  
 **More chapters coming soon.**  
 **Oliver and Company belongs to (C) Disney.**  
 **Ryan belongs to me.**


	2. Reunion

**A New Dalmatian on the Block.  
An Oliver and Company fanfic, starring Dodger, Oliver, Francis, Tito, Einstein, Rita, Georgette, Jenny and many others.**

Chapter 2: Reunion 

The next day, Ryan and Rita were out walking towards the Foxworths' mansion, enjoying the nice warm summer air around them. The 2 of them decided to go out and see Oliver for a little bit, just to see how things were doing. Plus if they were lucky, Oliver can finally introduce Ryan to Jenny. Ryan never met Jenny before. He had heard a lot about her, such as when Dodger and the gang saved her from Sykes and his Doberman dogs, but never has he ever met Jenny in person. For the sake of Ryan's safety, Rita kept a close eye around her boyfriend just to make sure nothing happens to him. The last thing she wanted, was another visit from his father and if anything happens to him it would be on Rita's head.

As they kept walking down the sidewalk, Ryan noticed an Italian Greyhound messing with a skateboard nearby. He had dark gray colored fur with a white underbelly. His belly was skinny and he was wearing a baseball cap on his head. Ryan's eyes nearly popped out when he saw the dog and raced towards him, barking happily.

"Ryan, wait for me!" Rita shouted and chased after her boyfriend.

"Buddy man!" Ryan shouted to the Italian Greyhound, "hey Bud! Buderina, Buddy boy!"

The dog lifted his head up and looked towards Ryan. His jaw dropped upon seeing the Dalmatian running towards him. "R-Ryfry?!" he said. When the Dalmatian got close to him, they both hugged each other, gave each other high fives and fist bumps, laughing and wooing happily. "dang man, they said you were gone!"

"and they were right!" Ryan laughed. "you haven't changed one bit dude. Woo!"

Rita looked at the Italian Greyhound suspiciously. She had never met this dog before in her life. "excuse me, honey, but who is this fellow friend of yours?"

Ryan smiled back at Rita. "Rita, this is Buddy" he said, gesturing to the dog on the skateboard. "He's one of the coolest guys in my old neighborhood and is one of my best pals ever! Buddy, this my new girlfriend Rita. the most beautiful creature on 4 legs."

Rita began to blush wildly. That was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to her.

Buddy eyed the Saluki with interest. "dang dude, you are one lucky guy Ryfry!" he said, looking all around Rita. "when did you two meet? right after Tiffany died?"

"the day after I ran away from Little Jack's place actually" corrected Ryan.

Rita looked at Ryan curiously. "Ryfry? what kind of nickname is that?"

Buddy chuckled, "that's what me and Patrick call him all the time. he's cool after all. we're like brothers from other mothers."

"is Patrick still around? asked Ryan. He hasn't seen his friends for a long time and was keen to be reunited with all his friends once more. The only thing he has heard from them was Tiffany's death.

"yeah man!" Buddy smiled brightly. He gestured both Rita and Ryan to follow him to Central Park and raced off to the park on his "new" skateboard he found.

Rita can tell Ryan was excited. He gets to finally reunited with his old friends from the neighborhood he grew up in. But she was still wanted to make sure nothing happens to him or else it would be her head.

* * *

The 3 dogs arrived at Central Park, where there was a group of families playing with their pets. There was a huge group of dogs ranging from different breeds and colored fur, with only a pet lizard being the odd one out. The dogs were playing with each other, barking happily and rolling around in the grass. Ryan's tail wagged with excitement. He knew who all those dogs were.

"Yo yo yo everybody!" Buddy shouted to the group of pets. "recognized this fellow Dalmatian right here? It's Ryfry!"

Everyone smiled as they raced towards Ryan happily. They barked with joy upon seeing their old friend once more. "Ryan!" they said with excitement.

Ryan's smile grew bigger as all his friends surrounded him and Rita, wagging their tails happily. "what up guys and gals? I'm still alive!"

"Ryan you haven't changed one bit dude!" said the lizard, climbing up Ryan's leg.

A female Yorkshire Terrier with long fur and a red bow on her head hugged Ryan happily, making Rita suspicious. "what happened to you? I thought you were taken to the Humane Society?"

Ryan shook his head. "no Christina, I ran away remember? I ran away from home and met this cool dog named Dodger. I followed him all the way to his home where he has an owner who takes care of him and he has a gang of dogs, including this lovely lady right here." He gestured towards Rita, making all the dogs look at her.

Rita remained quiet and blushed from the compliment. "hello everyone" she said warmly, "my name's Rita. I'm Ryan's new girlfriend."

Ryan then kindly introduced Rita to his friends. The lizard's name was Patrick and he was the horror loving guy who lives with his master in a shared apartment with his friend Buddy. The 2 of them and Ryan were best buds for life and often hangout whenever they can. Though Ryan is not much of a conversation loving dog, they do enjoy Ryan's company a lot. Patrick also has a crush on Christina the Yorkshire Terrier who also lives in Ryan's old neighborhood. Unlike most of her friends, Christina lives in a more fancier apartment with her best friends Angela, a Shetland Sheepdog who is another dog Ryan is friends with.

Then there's Hyde the Border Collie. Living in his master's mansion not far from Ryan's neighborhood, Hyde is a mystery loving dog who often hangs out with the autistic Dalmatian whenever he feels like it. He even enjoys listening to his master's pipe organ in his own home and his own theater in the city, making the Border Collie feel like he's in a horror film. Darla the Chihuahua is known as the proper lady of the gang. She has good manners and tends to keep herself busy being beautiful. Like Georgette, Darla competes in dog shows and often wins 3rd place.

Last but not least is Jacob the Labrador. Another one of Ryan's close friends, Jacob is the "cool cat" of the group and lives with his master in the same apartment building Buddy and Patrick are in. He is a security dog at his master's shop in Little Italy and is having a close relationship with a pretty Pekingese named Daisy, a dog Dodger flirted with the day he met Oliver.

"wow, lots of friends you have Ryan-baby" said Rita once her boyfriend was done introducing her to his friends. She never knew Ryan had this many friends from his old neighborhood.

"thanks" Ryan said sweetly, "there's more friends where that came from. unfortunately there's also Michael."

"who's Michael?"

"Michael is a Rottweiler who thinks he owns my old neighborhood" sighed the Dalmatian. "he's also a bully to me back when I was little and still living with Little Jack. he's mean, cruel, dirty and no good. he's also got some henchmen too named Marty, Zack and Dart. everybody hates them and sometimes I wonder if they'll ever do something sneaky."

"Ryan man" Patrick said on the Dalmatian's back, "you're just over reacting dude. stop worrying about them and move on with your life. sheesh." The lizard had heard Ryan complain about those 3 for most of his days with his dog friends. He would try and tell him to stop complaining and ignore them. But as much as Ryan would love to, he can't because of his Autism.

Rita looked at the lizard with a little bit of anger in her eyes. Who's he to tell him what to do? But before she could tackle the lizard, Ryan chimed in.

"whoa whoa whoa, Rita! it's ok. I'm not gonna worry about those freaks. I got my life with Rita at the barge, Pat. I don't have to deal with those foals anymore."

Rita nodded, "and even if they did come near him, me and the gang will protect him no matter what!"

Ryan's friends looked at the Saluki with unease. They weren't sure about Ryan hanging out with her as his girlfriend, but if Ryan is happy then they should just leave it be. Soon they all heard their masters calling for them. They were sad to leave their Dalmatian friend behind, but he promised them that he would be able to see them often when going out with Rita. After a friendly goodbye, all of Ryan's friends hurried away back to their masters, while Ryan and Rita walked out of the park.

"they seem like nice friends of yours" Rita snuggled against her boyfriend's side. "have you known them while growing up?"

Ryan nodded excitedly, "yes I have actually! they taught me a lot of things and we hanged out a lot too when our masters took us to the park and so forth. we even had friendship bracelets on our front legs too, but I lost mine when I had to run away."

Rita smiled warmly at her Dalmatian sweetheart. Ryan's story reminds her of her sisters she had back when she use to live in her mom and dad's home in the city. Both her and her sisters wore bracelets that they called "Best Sister Friends Forever" bracelets and wore them wherever they went, including sleeping with them on. However, she lost hers after a fight with Roscoe and Desoto while saving Jenny. She was disappointed a little, but she knew that their sisterly love would never die.

"come on honey, let's get back to work" she said with a wink, "we can go meet Jenny another time."

"alrighty then!" Ryan said with determination as he followed his girlfriend onto a taxi, being carried away from the park. _I hope my friends could come for my birthday_ , he thought.

 **Please review this.  
More chapters coming soon.  
Oliver and Company belongs to (C) Disney.  
Ryan, Patrick, Buddy and the other characters belongs to me.**


	3. Lack of defense

**A New Dalmatian on the Block.  
An Oliver and Company fanfic, starring Dodger, Oliver, Francis, Tito, Einstein, Rita, Georgette, Jenny and many others.**

 **Chapter 3: Lack of defense.**

Soon after a long productive day, Ryan was back at the barge with Rita and the others that evening. They managed to get a couple of other things too, but they gave each other half since they got a lot of stuff. With Ryan's brains, the whole gang was making lots of progress and get tons of goodies such as more cash that mostly consist of coins and a few other things.

Rita could see her boyfriend was exhausted from a long day they had as she sat next to Ryan. Not only did they steal stuff as always, but Rita and Dodger had also taught Ryan some more lessons about car surfing and stealing stuff quietly as a mouse, which he did a pretty decent job on. "tired sweetheart?" Rita asked to the exhausted Dalmatian.

Ryan nodded slightly as he laid in Rita's bed. "yeah, I've had a long day haven't I?"

"I can tell" chuckled Tito nearby. "Dude you were pretty good at car surfing, man. despite that little scare I gave ya just so you can get on that truck, you were great."

"thanks Tito, just don't scare me like that again or else I'll mess up your hair" smirked Ryan playfully.

Rita giggled quietly. She was starting to like Ryan messing around with the others like that. Gently, she kissed her Dalmatian boyfriend on the head and laid her head on top of his. "you're funny Ryan baby" she cooed.

"I try to be funny!" Ryan replied, "but yet I still succeed in making others laugh."

"so what else did you two love birds do today?" Dodger asked as he was watching the baseball game in Fagin's chair. He was curious about how Ryan and Rita's relationship was going since they started dating not too long ago after that rough night.

Ryan smiled brightly and looked over towards the grinning mutt. "it was nice! I get to meet my friends I knew back when I was living with Little Jack and I was going to be introduced to Jenny, but we had a busy day and such, so that'll wait for another time I suppose." explained the Dalmatian. "I just hope they could come and celebrate my birthday coming up soon."

Dodger and the others looked at Ryan in surprise. They never knew Ryan's birthday was coming up except Rita. Apparently they haven't read his collar before he hid it and then threw it away into the river below since he became a member of the gang. "your birthday is coming up?" they asked.

"that's right" grinned Rita. She began to rub her head against Ryan's. "my handsome man is going to be a young adult."

"well then, happy early birthday!" Francis smiled warmly. "do you have any big plans to celebrate?"

The Dalmatian smiled even more, "well I was hoping of taking a day off and watch some trains on the subway or go to the Locomotive Preservation Society's museum in the city. for my party, if possible, I would like to have it in a railroad yard somewhere and have tons of steam locomotives all over the place like a very special event. that would be boss, and really it's what I deserve. although that'll probably cost hundreds of dollars and such, that would be pretty amazing and flattering in a way."

"sheesh" giggled Rita, "such a big birthday event that would be. even though that probably would be impossible, but that would be a great birthday party for you Ryan." She didn't mind Ryan's love for trains at all since she knew a family member of hers that use to work for the railroad as a security dog. Her grandfather use to work for Steamtown USA when the museum was still in Vermont and was moved to Pennsylvania. _He might've met Ryan's father once,_ she thought to herself.

Ryan shrugged. "eh, I dream big sometimes, you know?" he smiled, looking at the guys.

Einstein stood above his best friend with joy, drooling a little on Ryan's snout. "yeah!"

"but it's a shame my mother won't be around to see me grow up" frowned the Dalmatian. He haven't heard anything about his mother for a very long time now since being separated from her when he was just a pup.

Rita and the others started to feel sorry for Ryan. "Ryan honey, wherever your mother is right now, I'm sure she'll be proud to hear about you being the sweetest Dalmatian everybody would love to be friends with." she smiled and gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek.

"yeah dude!" Tito jumped around, "you're brave too! rough, tough and you can probably take out anything that stands in your path!"

Ryan was about to say "thank you" to Tito, but a rat crawled right past him, making the Dalmatian jump with terror. "RAT! RAT!" he screamed and hid in a barrel nearby, shaking nervously! "I hate rats so much!"

Rita and the others looked at the barrel in surprise. They'd never seen Ryan get scared of a rodent like a rat before. He must've never seen one before in his life. They didn't say a word. Dodger walked to where the rat went while Rita walked over towards the barrel Ryan was hiding in.

"honey?" she asked, looking inside the barrel.

Ryan gulped nervously. "I'm sorry Rita, I'm afraid of rodents, especially rats. I got bitten by a mole once at Central Park one day when I was a pup and it hurt real bad. I even had a cut from that bite on my butt too. I got bit on the butt! The butt, and it hurt!"

Rita hushed Ryan softly. "hey hey hey shhhhh shhhh shhhh... it's ok" she said, "I'm not mad at you or anything. see? Dodger is getting rid of it for you." She gestured towards Dodger, who was carrying a now dead rat outside and throws it into a trash can. "see, all gone."

The Dalmatian crawled out of the barrel, looking very embarrassed. He wasn't brave as Tito and the others thought he was. While he was growing up, he barely knew any fighting skills and barely knew how to protect himself. The only way he defends himself is his howl/whistle and his yelling which he doesn't like doing at all. Ryan hugged Rita softly, still embarrassed.

"it's alright" Rita said and hugged back. "no need to cry." She felt a small tear fall down her body that came from her boyfriend. Gently patting his back, she started humming a soft song.

"no it's not alright Rita" Ryan said moanfully, "how can I even look at myself, work with you guys and date you went I'm jumpy about rodents, hate yelling, zero fighting skills and a lack of defense? I'm just a nobody."

Rita smiled. She and the others didn't think he was a nobody at all. Without his brains the gang wouldn't have gotten some money and find some stuff worth something. "Hey now, who said you're a nobody? you're like one of the smartest dogs we know, and a pretty smart boyfriend actually." she said, blinking flirtatiously at him and looked at Tito, Einstein, Francis and Dodger "right guys?"

The boys nodded.

"yeah you have the bigger brain than all of us" Francis smiled broadly.

"plus" Einstein added, "a very good friend!"

Ryan slowly began to smile. "now I know why Fagin always has a smile when he sees you guys. you guys are pretty great."

Rita and the others smiled more. They were always there for Fagin no matter what, and they would always be there for Ryan too. He was their friend and a very smart one.

Ryan yawned slightly and crawled back into Rita's bed. "well... _yaaaaaawwwwwn_ I guess I'm hitting the hay early tonight. night guys."

"goodnight Ry!" Tito, Einstein, Francis, Dodger and Rita said as they went back to what they were doing.

Rita however laid next to her boyfriend happily and rested her head on top of Ryan's. She could see the Dalmatian slowly drifting off to a deep sleep and slowly began to snore softly. She liked watching Ryan sleep. It reminds her of Oliver when he slept with Dodger that night when he came to the barge. "that's my Ryan baby" she whispered softly before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

That night, everyone was sound asleep. Despite the snoring from Francis and Ryan, everything was quiet. Rita was thinking about her and Ryan's future together in her sleep. She didn't know her boyfriend didn't know any fighting skills nor did he even have the courage to kill a rat for crying out loud. What was she going to do? What if she and the others weren't there to protect Ryan from any danger?

"Rita" came a whisper, sending chills down her spine. The deep sounded voice was coming from outside on the dock. "Rita!"

Gulping nervously, Rita slowly let go of her sleeping boyfriend and tip-toed out onto the dock without disturbing anyone's slumber. The air was cold and the wind was blowing gently around her. Fog lay everywhere as she stepped off the boat. She could barely see her paws and hair infront of her face. Through the fog she could see a pair of lights facing her. They were shining as bright as gold and it made Rita feel scared. Then, the fog slowly lifted, revealing a ghostly looking steam engine (CB&Q 2-8-2) underneath the blanket of fog. He was as white as a ghost, with his lights being red as a stop sign.

He looked down at Rita. "ah, you are here Rita" he said in a deep voice that sounded like Ryan's father. "I am one of The Father of Railroading's messengers. I've been sent here to see how his son is doing, just to be sure he's doing well."

Rita gasped. She didn't know Ryan's father, Shaun, had messengers. "uhhh... uhhh... uhhh..." she stuttered, lost in words.

"how is he?"

"h-h-he's doing good" Rita said finally. "he just had a problem with a rat and told us he doesn't have any lack of defense skills. I don't know what to do! What if he gets into danger when me and the others aren't around? I don't want anything bad happen to him or else it'll be my head on a hood ornament!"

The engine thought for a moment, gathering all the info Rita had just said. He ponder quietly until he finally spoke. "He doesn't have fighting skills and such because he's afraid. Afraid he might hurt the wrong person or himself or others. The only way he defends himself is by howling or yelling at the person, which causes his blood pressure to go high. He doesn't have the strength to fight and probably never will. But at least he's happy for where he is now, living with you and your friends, and not living alone without any skills of survival. It's better for him, and it's better for you."

His speech made Rita sigh. What if he was in trouble and gets himself killed from any tough dogs out there? Heck for all she knows, those bullies Ryan told her about might try and hurt him badly.

"however" the ghost continued, "if you and the others can't stop the madness Ryan gets into... 'He' will."

The ghost engine slowly began to back away from Rita. He started to disappear into the foggy night. "another thing" he said one last time, "'He' is not always a mean ghost..." Whistling loudly, the engine disappeared into the fog. Once he vanished into thin air, the fog slowly disappeared.

"if we don't stop the madness Ryan gets into, 'He' will" muttered Rita to herself. The engine was referring to Ryan's father, which made the Saluki shiver softly. "...and 'He' is not always a mean ghost..." Taking a deep breath of fresh air, she quietly went back to bed. Tomorrow is gonna be another day and hopefully no trouble happens.

 **Please review this.  
More chapters coming soon.  
Oliver and Company belongs to (C) Disney.  
Ryan and the Locomotive Preservation Society belongs to me.**


	4. Learning Curve

**A New Dalmatian on the Block.  
An Oliver and Company fanfic, starring Dodger, Oliver, Francis, Tito, Einstein, Rita, Georgette, Jenny and many others.**

 **Chapter 4: Learning curve.**

The next day came and Ryan was out with his friends and his sweetheart. They were walking away from the alley they would meet up with Fagin once they were done with their work, preparing for another day of stealing stuff. But today was going to be a tad bit different than usual. With the thought of Ryan knowing nothing about defending himself, fighting to be specific, Dodger and the others, excluding Rita, decided to show the Dalmatian some fighting skills with most of the training to be taught by Tito since he's more of a wrestling fan. At first Ryan didn't like the idea, nor did Rita, but just incase he gets picked on by Michael and his henchmen the next time they meet the Dalmatian would be a better fighter than before.

Tito inspected the Dalmatian as he walked around like a soldier. "alright Ryan man" he boomed, "if you're gonna survive the streets of New York, you're gonna have to learn how to fight!"

Ryan gulped. "f-f-fight? but I'm a lover, not a fighter Tito. I know nothing about fighting!"

"not yet you don't!" Tito barked, "you're gonna learn lots of fighting skills from me and the others whether you're ready or not!"

Rita looked over at Ryan, who was starting to feel nervous. As much as she and her friends would love to help him, she just wasn't sure if he was able to be taught how to fight. _He doesn't have the strength to fight and probably never will._ "uhh Tito" she said to the Chihuahua, "maybe Ryan isn't ready to be taught how to fight. He's afraid to hurt the wrong person and so forth after all."

Tito chuckled as he led the Dalmatian over to a dusty punching bag next to a dumpster. "nonsense Rita! If he's gonna be with us, then he's gonna have to learn some skills. Ryan, show us what you got!"

Ryan looked at Tito and the others, then the punching bag. It was a little torn up from either being in the trash for a while or being beaten up many times. He gulped nervously and raised his fists up at the punching bag. He gave a mighty swing at the bag and smacked it as hard as he can, only to hurt his fist just a little bit.

"ouch!" he said and shook his paw.

Rita walked over to her boyfriend and kissed his hurt paw. "see Tito? he's gonna hurt himself."

Tito groaned as he shook his head in disappointment. "dude, what the heck kind of hit was that?! you really aren't a good fighter!" he exclaimed. "you gotta learn how to fight if you're gonna stand up for yourself. let me show you how to fight, the Tito way!"

* * *

Throughout most of the morning while stealing stuff, Tito and the others except Rita taught Ryan how to fight. They showed him some moves, how to punch harder, bite more harder than before and all sorts of stuff. However, much to everyone's surprise, Ryan just couldn't do it. Rita knew this since Shaun's messenger told her about that last night. She was starting to get concerned as she watched her Dalmatian boyfriend rub his paw after beating up a watermelon as hard as he could. Sweat fell down his face, starting to feel tense.

"guys, maybe we should stop!" Rita said with concern. She didn't want Ryan to feel tense or scared. "I mean it is what it is! Ryan can't fight, then so beat it. We can still help him out right?"

"unless that whimp decides to run away" said a voice.

Everyone looked around with surprise while Ryan just gulped. He knew that voice anywhere. Leaning at the entrance to the alley was a Rottweiler. He was grinning deviously as 3 other dogs gathered beside him. There was a Doberman named Marty, a German Shepherd named Dart and a Boerboel named Zack. They walked towards Dodger and the gang, grinning more as they could see the Dalmatian shaking nervously.

"well well well" Marty said, "look who's come back from the dead, a weak, pathetic Dalmatian who'll be crying for his papa!"

Ryan smiled weakly. "oh... hello Michael. I see you've brought your partners in crime as always, eheh."

Rita was surprised. So these dogs were Michael and his henchmen Ryan was talking about. They were mean and cruel looking.

"who the heck are you guys? and who taught you to treat our friend like that?!" Tito snarled angrily.

"the name's Michael, the toughest dog in this whimp's neighborhood!" said the Rottweiler, gesturing to Ryan with a wicked grin on his muzzle. "these are my associates, Zack, Marty and Dart, and we make sure things in our neighborhood run our way!"

Francis snorted. "isn't that what a Mafioso does and not you 4?"

"oh ho ho, good one Frankie man!" Tito laughed and fist bumped the Bulldog. His mood soon changed when Marty and Zack growled at him.

"watch it you two, or else you'll be joining your teddy bear here" they said. They were referring Ryan since he could barely stick up to himself in situations like this.

Einstein looked at his sweating Dalmatian friend and decided to stick up for him. "why don't you pick on somebody else?!" he said bravely.

The mean dogs laughed. "oh yeah" Michael said, "like who? you old man?! we can take you down and your friend at once! but we're gonna start with the cry baby first!"

Ryan started to shake nervously. A small tear fell down his cheek as he looked at the grinning dogs looking at him. He didn't want to be beaten up by those dogs at all. He wanted to run, but he didn't dare incase Michael and his henchmen start beating him up. More tears fell down his face when he saw Michael walking towards him, grinning evilly. Without warning, Ryan punched him in the nose, making it bleed.

"OW!" exclaimed the Rottweiler angrily. "why you little piece of crap! I will rip your heart out!"

Ryan yelped and ran away as fast as he could, barking in fear. He ran out of the alley and was gone. Before Michael and his henchmen could go after him, Dodger and the gang blocked them.

"move you good for nothings! we just wanna play with our furry piñata!" Dart laughed deviously.

"that's enough you guys!" Dodger growled, showing his sharp teeth.

There was a long pause as Dodger and the gang growled at Michael and his henchmen, who simply growled back. They stared angrily at each other, growling and showing their teeth. Rita growled the loudest, not wanting anything to happen to Ryan. She was about to attack Michael when she saw Shaun shaking his head at her from a broken mirror nearby.

"no."

"run along boys" said Rita, looking back at Michael and his henchmen. "you'll regret fighting us and our friend."

The 4 evil dogs snorted and began to walk away. They looked back at Dodger and the gang as they left, growling deviously.

"you haven't seen the last of us!" Zack barked as he disappeared around the corner.

Tito watched them leave. He growled furiously as they disappeared. "oh yeah? well we'll make sure you'll be sorry the next time you mess with our smart friend! you gonna attack him, we'll kill you in your sleep!" He was about to go after them, but Einstein held him back by his tail. "let me at 'em, let me at 'em!"

"so I guess now we're gonna have to keep a more closer eye on Ryan?" Rita asked.

Dodger nodded, wiping some sweat off his head. "yeah I guess so. If the kid doesn't like fighting back, then I guess we got no choice but to protect him at all cost, like those dudes in suits that keeps a close eye on the mayor or the president." He soon began to look around for the Dalmatian. "Ryan? come on out man, they're gone!"

The gang began to search the whole alley for Ryan. They weren't sure where he went and were starting to worry about their friend. Rita went alone as she looked for her boyfriend, while the others split up in search for him. As she walked alone, searching every trash can and every corner, she could hear Shaun's voice again.

"you know, at the beginning I wanted to help others" he said, "I believe God himself gave me the chance for me to become the legend I am today. He had given me the best life I've ever had with my mate before my death and I had to move on from this world."

"then why are you here when you should be up there?" Rita asked curiously. She wanted to know a little bit more about Shaun and know why he's here on Earth.

Shaun chuckled, "I'm here on Earth not only to guide my son, but for revenge on the person who killed me in the accident. I've searched the whole country, looking for the murderer who did this to me but to no avail. I won't give up until I find the person or engine who had killed me. If I do and I get my revenge, I will forever be in peace, finally."

Rita's eyes were wide with wonder. She thought he would be gone after she said sorry to his son from the outburst she had that one night, but she was wrong. Ryan's father decided to stay a little longer to keep an eye on his son and find the person/engine who had killed him. She was about to ask more questions, but she heard a howl/whistle coming from a dumpster nearby, followed by sniffling and crying.

"Ry?!" she exclaimed and raced over towards the dumpster. Peeking her head through the lid, she could see Ryan crying his eyes out with the floor of the dumpster literally flooded with tears. Rita frowned and barked loudly so the others know where she is before climbing into the dumpster to comfort the poor Dalmatian. "shhhhhh shhhhh shhhhhhh" she hushed, rubbing Ryan's head softly.

"I'm so weak Rita!" Ryan shouted in sadness, "I can barely fight, I'm scared of rodents, those bullies are like cow manure, I just wanna go home!" He let out a loud, sad howl/whistle before planting his face in his own tears.

Rita rubbed his back more as she began to sing a soft melody, hoping to calm her boyfriend down. Her voice sounded like an angel, which made Ryan calm down, just a little bit. She sang more softly as she started to massage her boyfriend. The Saluki was determined to make him smile and not be in a meltdown. "that maybe true, but you're still my love of my life, no matter what you are."

Ryan sniffled sadly and looked up at Rita. His eyes were full of tears, blinding his vision. He was lost with words, unable to say anything to her. He jumped when Dodger and the others peeked inside the dumpster.

"jeez man, you really gave that guy a punch huh?" Tito chuckled softly.

"TITO!" Rita growled, not wanting the situation get any worse. With a little help from Einstein, she gently picked Ryan up and placed him on the ground next to the dumpster. "you just take a nice time out while we continue work, ok?"

Ryan just nodded in reply, tears still dripping from his eyes. For the rest of that afternoon, the Dalmatian just watched his friends and his girlfriend loot through trash cans and dumpster. They didn't want to take things more worse for him, so they just left him alone so that he could calm down. Despite the banging and loud noises going on around him, he was starting to slightly calm himself. Rita and Einstein would come around to give him some hugs or some massages to make him more calm, or give him kisses. Einstein's kisses were just plain licks on his best friend's cheek, while Rita's were normal kisses she normally gives to Ryan. They all felt very sorry for the autistic dog.

* * *

Several sad hours later, Ryan was still taking a time out for himself. He had helped the others a little bit when they found something and they would ask him if it would be worth anything. There were a few, but not that much. He decided to skip picking through the trash for dinner, since he was still not in the best mood.

Before he could get up and maybe head back to the barge, a hot dog was placed infront of him. It was warm and fresh, tucked in a nice warm bun waiting to be eaten. He looked up and saw Dodger, smiling down at him.

"hey bud" smiled the mutt at his friend, "me and the others already found ourselves dinner, but since we knew you were still in the worst mood I thought I'd pay old Louie a visit."

Ryan weakly smiled and began to chow down on the hotdog. He sighed as he enjoys the taste of the hotdog and the buns. "mmmmm" he moaned in relief.

Dodger began to smile as he watched the Dalmatian eat his dinner. "listen bud, just because you're weak doesn't mean you're a terrible person. you did your best at training today, and we're proud you participated."

Ryan smiled a little bit more. He was grateful that the others still like him the way he is, but was still a little disappointed with himself. What if Rita didn't want to date him anymore because he was weak? The Dalmatian didn't know what to do about that. As much as he would love to be Rita's true love, he was starting to have doubts that their relationship would go any further since he was a weak fighter. The thought made him frown once more as he finished his meal.

* * *

Later that evening, Ryan was sitting by himself up on the deck, looking out at the pillars of smoke coming from the Locomotive Preservation Society's museum across the river. He could hear bells ringing and whistles blowing coming from the museum as most of the locomotives there were either being put away for the night or staying outside for a little while before going back inside the museum building or roundhouse on the property. He had been outside for a while, thinking about the future of his and Rita's relationship now that she'd found out he was weak fighting back. A small tear formed in his eye as he looked out at the museum across the river.

"Ryan honey? are you ok?" came a voice behind him.

Ryan jumped and looked to see Rita standing behind him with concern. He didn't hear her walking up behind him cause he was too busy thinking about what she would say to him. The Dalmatian let out a soft sigh and shook his head with sadness. "no" he said moanfully, "I'm just worried Rita, about our relationship. I know you want to break up with me because I'm weak and..."

"WHAT?!" Rita exclaimed with shock. "Honey! I would never do that to you! who said I would do that?"

Ryan gulped, "n-n-no one said that. I was thinking that's what you will do to me."

Rita looked at her boyfriend with disbelief. The thought of dumping him never came up ever since she started dating him for a few days now since he had been kind and loyal to her, making her feel like she was a queen and her knight in shining armor was Ryan. He was doing all sorts of good things just for her in fact, that she had completely rejected the thought of dumping him if that thought ever came up in her mind rarely. How could she dump such a kind, sweet, innocent, harmless, adorable boyfriend like Ryan? Well, probably some mean girl would, but that's different.

"Oh Ryan" Rita smiled softly. She leaped up next to her boyfriend and gave him a loving kiss on the cheek. "I would never dump you because you're weak. You're the sweetest dog any girl would want to date and I'm lucky to be with you. We can work things out, trust me. But the thought of me dumping you? It's just... hmmmm... ludicrous, so to speak."

Ryan looked at the Saluki with confusion. "ludy rust? what's that?"

"ludicrous, honey!" laughed Rita, "it means ridiculous or so foolish."

"oh" nodded the Dalmatian, understanding what Rita said. He looked out at the LPS museum, smiling just a tad bit.

"what's over there honey?" Rita wanted to cheer her boyfriend up more. She hate seeing him sad and lonely with his thoughts, and was keen to make the Dalmatian she loves smile once more.

Ryan began to smile a little more as he looked at the museum. "that's where the Locomotive Preservation Society's main headquarters is" he explained, "and is also where most of their collection is restored and displayed at. It's one of the largest railroad historical societies and museums in the world."

Rita was amazed, "how long has that been there?"

"well the Locomotive Preservation Society, or LPS for short, has been around since 1869" explained the Dalmatian. "Their main goal was to save locomotives and rolling stock, or railroad cars, of all types for future generations to enjoy. They saved all sorts of engines and railroad cars since they started. They even saved originally built engines such as the real Tom Thumb built by Peter Cooper of 1830 for example, and the Yonah that was used during the Civil War."

"why did they choose New York as their headquarters?"

"The founders thought it was a good idea to place their headquarters in New York City, because not only would it bring in tourism, but also attract a lot of people and because the founders were born in New York City. They wanted to build the headquarters and museum in the middle of the city where Central Park is today, but they decided to build it along the river in Brooklyn to add variety and great views for the visitors riding on the museum's tourist trains they can ride on. Visitors enjoyed coming to the museum to see the locomotives, attend special events and even parties the society would throw every year. They were even the ones who made National Train Day an official holiday here in the United States, and celebrate it every year."

"what happened as time went on and on?"

"As the city grew bigger and bigger, so did the museum. Railroads wanted to replace their old engines and rolling stock with new ones, and most of them were either donated or sold to the LPS, while some were sold for scrap or to other owners. Of course, more stuff means more room to add all those stuff. So the museum decided to expand their museum. They built a huge workshop to restore all of their pieces of equipment and build replacement parts for their pieces of equipment, a roundhouse to store their locomotives, a visitor center for the people to see their collection up close, a car float area where some of their locomotives and cars would arrive at the museum until they got trackage rights with the Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal Railroad, pretty much all sorts of things to keep their collection looking like they were brand new. Unfortunately, the first founder of the society, George W. Lucas, died at the age of 100 in 1929. The 2nd founder, Mitch P. Lucas, George's brother, died after a ship's boiler exploded while on vacation in Maine, and they both didn't get to see the biggest expansion to their beloved museum and historical society."

"what happened?"

Ryan softly smiled, "After the Great Depression, more locomotives, mostly steam engines, and railroad cars started to arrive at the LPS' museum in Brooklyn like wildfire as the era of Streamlining have arrived. Most of them came from railroads that didn't want them anymore or were bought 2nd hand by the museum. They were starting to run out of room in their old visitor center and decided to expand their main building and upgrade their roundhouse to house future trains. With thousands of rail enthusiasts coming to the museum everyday and every month, the historical society was starting to become very popular for people who wants to see steam engines up close. They soon began to save other types of engines when they saved some Baltimore and Ohio electrics and the Union Pacific M10000 from scrap. The collection grew and grew when the diesel era came in the 1940s and 50s as railroads started replacing steamers with diesels and electric locomotives. With their ever expanding collection of engines and cars coming in every year, the historical society decided to add more museums across America to house their collection and eventually they became a world wide railroad preservation society, with museums in several other countries and major cities. Chicago Illinois, Vancouver British Colombia, Tokyo Japan, Paris France, London England, and Sydney Australia, was one of several locations for the LPS' museums that stores and operates locomotives and rolling stock from those same countries they're located in."

Rita's jaw nearly hit the ground as she looked in awe at her boyfriend. Apparently the LPS isn't just an ordinary museum at all. "have you been to the museum before?" she asked curiously.

"not since I was born" Ryan sighed. "I have, or had, tons of friends over there."

"had?"

"some of them might have been bought by tourist railroads and such to haul excursion trains or for regular duties" Ryan nodded. "some of those engines might've been some of my friends me and dad made when I was young. The most recently sold engine was a Union Pacific 9000 class #9026 that was sold to the Union Pacific for their steam program in Cheyenne, and his name was Mr. Tough."

Rita looked out at the museum once more. She wanted to go see the museum herself and wanted to meet Ryan's friends too. Since there was nothing else to do besides steal things as always, she thought it would be a nice change and take another day off with her boyfriend. An idea soon flew into her brain and she smiled brighter than a Christmas tree. "honey, if you want to, would you like to go over there and see your friends again?"

Ryan's eyes lit up with excitement as angel dust formed in his eyes. "oh heck yeah!" he shouted with joy. He was so excited, he let out a loud howl/whistle that echoed across the river. A few seconds later, an engine from the museum whistled back. Rita and Ryan laughed before the Dalmatian howled back. He got another whistle back to him. This went on and on until Ryan got tired, and the 2 canines went back inside for bed.

 **Please review this.  
More chapters coming soon.  
Oliver and Company belongs to (C) Disney.  
Ryan, Michael, Zack, Dart, Marty and the Locomotive Preservation Society belongs to me.**


	5. Steamin' into memories

**A New Dalmatian on the Block.  
An Oliver and Company fanfic, starring Dodger, Oliver, Francis, Tito, Einstein, Rita, Georgette, Jenny and many others.  
**

 **Chapter 5: Steamin' into memories.**

The next morning, Rita awoke with a smile on her face. She could see Ryan was still asleep right beside her, probably dreaming about Michael and his henchmen. Looking over towards Fagin's chair, she could see Dodger and the others were already up and about, ready for another productive day as always. They were chatting with each other quietly, not wanting to interrupt her or Ryan's slumber. Apparently she and Ryan slept in judging from all of this cause normally she would be up with the rest of the gang. However last night, Ryan had a hard time falling asleep because of the wooden floor underneath him was starting to get uncomfortable to him. Since he started living with her and the gang, the Dalmatian was starting to find sleeping on the wooden floor uncomfortable and not so good for him. He had gotten some splinters on his body while he would try and get himself comfortable and he didn't like that at all.

Rita gently crawled out of the bed, not wanting to disturb her sleeping boyfriend. She didn't know that her tail accidentally bumped Ryan's head, which made the Dalmatian jump and panic after having a terrible nightmare. She jumped to the side as the scared autistic dog ran around, knocking down everything in his path in panic.

"whoa whoa, easy boy! heal, heal boy! It's ok, nobody is gonna hurt you-come on! calm down, calm down!" Fagin shouted, grabbing hold of the scared Dalmatian. He gently massaged Ryan's head softly and squeezed his temple gently. Apparently the old man knew how to handle a dog with autism with a little help from Jenny since she knows a friend who has a dog that's autistic like Ryan. "it's ok boy. it's a good thing you're going out today with your friends, so you can get all that energy out of your systems."

Ryan suddenly began to feel calm. He looked over at Rita and the others as he took deep breaths. He had a nightmare about Michael and his henchmen beating the crap out of him like a piñata but not full of candy. As soon as he was completely calm, everyone got in Fagin's scooter and they rode off into the city for another productive day.

* * *

By mid-afternoon, Rita and Ryan car surfed all the way to the Locomotive Preservation Society's museum in Brooklyn after another productive day. The sound of whistles and horns, steam chuffing, bells ringing and diesel exhausts filled the air as the 2 of them arrived at the main entrance to the museum. There were hundreds of people walking in and out of the visitor center, which greeted people and pets to the museum. In front of the building was a statue of George and Mitch Lucas, the founders of the LPS. The statue stood proud and tall beside the visitor center's entrance, with birds chirping on top of both George and Mitch's heads.

"is that them?" Rita asked, gesturing to the statue.

Ryan softly nodded, "yep, the Lucas Brothers, the founders of the LPS. come on, this way."

Ryan led Rita inside the building and found themselves in the lobby of the visitor center. In the lobby, they could see a nice round desk where visitors check in, paintings of trains on the walls and a standee of a railroad conductor greeting visitors as they walked through the 4 doors into the large display area. The whole room looked marvelous, but not as marvelous as the display area Ryan led Rita into.

When the 2 of them snuck into the main part of the building, Rita's jaw dropped to the ground.

"that's a lot of trains" she exclaimed.

Indeed there was, for the entire room was full of nothing but locomotives and rolling stock from the day when railroading was born to 1988. The trains were all beautifully preserved in their former glory and were spotless. Nearly every single locomotive and railroad car had placards that told visitors when the engine or car was built, what it was used for and where did it work before being sold or donated to the museum. There were signs that pointed visitors to certain parts of the building such as "Streamliners: the most beautiful locomotives in America", "Old Timers: the early steamers in America" and "Modern days", each showing unique locomotives and cars on display. In the middle of the big room however was a bunch of locomotives, both male and females, circling around a large turntable with a small tank engine on display on top of it. They were chatting with each other or some visitors happily.

Ryan's eyes lit up with joy as he rushed towards the engines display around the turntable. "hey guys!" he shouted with joy, "feast your eyes on the Dalmatian who lived!"

The engines looked at Ryan and smiled as wide as they could. They chuckled with joy as the Dalmatian licked their faces one by one.

"dude you've grown a bit older!" said a Lehigh Valley Alco PA nearby.

"yeah" nodded a Virginian Railway Blue Ridge in his deep voice, "where've you been this whole time?"

Ryan looked up at his locomotive friends with a smile as big as his own face. "well my mother abandoned me in Central Park after my father died cause she couldn't take care of me anymore" he sighed softly.

The engines gasped in horror. "no!"

"yeah" nodded the Dalmatian, "but soon after, I got adopted by a little boy named Jack and I was soon raised by him until he died from Leukemia a while back. His parents was gonna take me to the Humane Society where I was to be put down, so... so I ran and met Dodger, and then I met my lovely sweetheart right here." Ryan gestured to Rita with glee as the engines looked down at her.

"hi" Rita said shyly. She felt very small compared to the engines. They looked very powerful and strong judging from their size, length and such. She had never seen trains like these guys and gals before.

The engines soon began to smile at Rita and greeted her warmly.

Then Ryan began to introduce the engines he knew with glee. Most of them were strange to Rita since she had never seen their kind before in her life. Not to mention she was new to trains and normally sees subway trains, including the one that killed Sykes not too long ago. Her Dalmatian boyfriend was happy though, which is what matters the most. Making her Dalmatian love happy is what matters today for her. True she may not be interested in railroads, but at least she was hanging out with Ryan and won't think of him being boring or anything. As she was introduced to Ryan's train friends, the engines themselves told a little about themselves, including a Virginian Railway Blue Ridge class engine named "Dusty", who received the name because he hauled tons of coal.

After what seemed to be an age to Rita, Ryan asked the engines: "Is the 'Great 5' around?"

"yeah" said Phoebe the Erie Lackawanna E8, "they're outside."

"Thanks Phoebe!" said the Dalmatian with glee and led Rita out the doors nearby, leading them to the train yard.

* * *

When the 2 canines went outside in the museum's train yard, they saw a rather large streamlined engine taking on water near the museum's beautifully restored train station. The engine was a 4-8-4 Northern that had an odd looking shape Rita had never seen before. The engine's streamlining was smooth on the front and an upside down bath tube look above the driving wheels. He was blue and silver with white lines on his side plates, "Canadian National" written on his cab, "6401" on a red rectangular plate on his side and on his number boards. A crown was placed on the very front of his side plate and tender. He looked very smart.

"Foxworth!" Ryan shouted at the streamlined engine as he rushed over towards him.

The engine jumped and looked over at the excited Dalmatian. "Ryan" the engine said in his Canadian accent, "you've grown up since the last time I saw you. Where've you been eh?"

Ryan licked the engine's face all over as he stood on the engine's pilot beam, "I've been busy with stuff." He turned to Rita, "Rita, this is Foxworth, the 'Royal Train' engine. Foxworth, this is my new girlfriend Rita, the prettiest creature on 4 legs."

"Well, not really the Royal Train engine" chuckled the Canadian engine, "but more of the pilot engine of The Royal Train. The real engine that pulled it would be my sister."

Rita tilted her head to the side, confused. She never heard of this "Royal Train" before and wanted to know what it is. "Excuse me Foxworth, but what is, or was, this 'Royal Train' you speak of?"

Foxworth laughed, "Ah, the Royal Train was a very special train that my sister pulled in 1939 for King George Vl and Queen Elizabeth. I was part of the special occasion, though mostly carried the security personnel, correspondents, photographers and radio commentators, while my sister took the main train with the king and queen themselves. It was the finest moment of our lives and we made sure that we did our best, and we did of course."

Rita was amazed. "Wow" she said softly, "so does that explain why you look so fancy?"

"That and plus I thought I'd pay tribute to that run my dear" chuckled the 4-8-4. He looked down at Ryan with a smile on his face. "I'd better get the others now that you're here again." With every ounce of steam he has, the U4a blew his whistle loudly, which was soon followed by several other whistles and a horn.

Then, coming around the bend underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, came 4 other locomotives. There were 2 streamlined steam locomotives, both 4-8-4 Northerns but both slightly different from one another. There was Sir Willoughby Norrie, a former South Australian Railway 520 class 4-8-4 that originally worked in Australia until 1984, when the Locomotive Preservation Society in America purchased Willoughby and shipped him to their museum in New York City for tourist trains along the New York Harbor. Willoughby is known as the "ladies man" since he does attract a lot of female engines at the museum with his charming looks and streamlining. The other Northern was Hannah, a Southern Pacific GS2 class still in her gorgeous Daylight livery who had been at the museum since 1962 and had been hauling tourist trains around the museum for many years. She's proud of being a member of the Locomotive Preservation Society, but hates getting her paint work dirty and messy.

The other steam engine was a former Santa Fe 4-6-2 Pacific named Buck, who was showing off a nice but bushy beard. Like most of the engines operating at the LPS' museum, Buck hauls tourist trains along the New York Harbor but also attends special events on tourist railroads or hauls rail tours in the Northeastern part of the US. Finally the odd one out is a diesel, a former Central of Georgia GP9 named Kyle who's still in his CofG livery. Like most of the diesels at the museum, Kyle is friendly to the steam engines unlike some diesels on mainline railroads these days. He's mostly seen on tourist trains, but he can also be seen switching cars around at the museum and some of the industries that are served by the harbor railroad in Brooklyn. The engines chuckled happily upon seeing their Dalmatian friend again.

"He-hey there cow poke!" Buck laughed in his western accent as he came to a complete stop next to the canines. "Man y'all look like ya dad sort of!"

Willoughby rolled his eyes. "Buck, he doesn't look like his old man" he said in his Australian accent, "he doesn't have the mustache. Before you say 'let's draw one on him' Kyle, that won't work out at all!"

"How did you know I was gonna say that?" asked the GP9 behind the big engine.

"Dear chaps" Foxworth cleared his throat, "let's not argue when our old friend and his girlfriend are around, please. After all, this is the first time in years we finally get to see our friend again."

The rest of the engines looked at Ryan and Rita with surprise. The last time they've seen their Dalmatian friend he never had a girlfriend with him. He was just a sweet little dog who's father was a legend and was alive and well before his unfortunate death last year. "This is your girlfriend, Ryan?" they asked.

Ryan nodded in reply, while Rita just blushed from cheek to cheek. "That's right" he said with pride. "We've had a rough patch at first, but we worked it out in the end after being rescued from the humane society. I'm really glad I have you around, Rita" Ryan softly snuggled against his girlfriend's body happily.

"Awww, true love" Kyle said with a smile.

"When did you two met each other?" Hannah asked with curiosity. She wanted to know how Ryan and Rita met since she'd never seen the Saluki before in her life.

Rita giggled and gave Ryan a lick on his cheek before she spoke up. "We met like several days ago, or possibly a week ago actually. Apparently he was following my friend Dodger to our place and he fell through the roof like an old friend of ours did. Me and my friends were asking him how he found our home and at that moment, he looked at me like I was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen."

"Yeah" nodded the Dalmatian. He smiled happily as he remembered the night he first met Rita and the other members of Dodger's gang. Even though he didn't think he would meet Rita like that, but hey, nobody is complaining. He thought it was his luckiest night ever, but when Rita told him she loves him was even more luckier than meet her. "It was the greatest moment of my life."

Foxworth and the other engines smiled and awed at this. They were happy for their old friend having a sweetheart like Rita. Things have really changed for the Dalmatian from what they could tell. They never really thought they would ever see him again, after all these years wondering where Shaun's son had gone after his death in Chase, Maryland. After a moment of silence, the engines decided to tell Rita about themselves, such as what they use to do on their home railroads, how did they get selected to be preserved by the museum, what life was like in the old days.

Unfortunately for both Ryan and the engines, they all had to go their separate ways after about 2 hours of chatting. They were sad when Ryan and Rita had to go home.

"If y'all need any help or wanna see us" Buck smiled, preparing to head back to work, "just stop by anytime, ya hear?"

"Well will, trust us!" Ryan shouted as he chased after his girlfriend onto a taxi. As the two canines left for Fagin's barge, Ryan gave a howl/whistle to his locomotive friends as the 5 engines left the yard and headed back to what they were doing. A small tear shed from Ryan's eye as the taxi drove away from the museum. He was feeling much better from Michael and his henchmen's run-in with him and his friends. "Did you had a good time Rita?" he asked his sweetheart.

Rita looked at her Dalmatian boyfriend with a soft smile. She honestly did had fun talking to his train friends and learning a lot about them from the day they were built to today. "Actually yes I have" she replied, "they seem very nice and friendly, and kinda remind me of myself and the others a little. But I still don't get why you call them 'The Great 5' though. Is that some kind of code name or something?"

"I seriously wish" laughed Ryan. "I call them 'The Great 5' cause they were my dad's first greatest friends. They knew him since he was a little pup living in an apartment building here in Brooklyn, well Willoughby knew my dad since he arrived in America in 1984 and not since the day he was born. But still, they're very kind and sweet friends you'd love to hangout with if you like trains."

"How did they end up being together?" asked Rita.

"Well first my dad met Foxworth when he was 3 months old by accident. He stumbled into Foxworth's path while he was taking some people around on a tour of the yard, but thankfully he stopped just in time. The two of them became friends afterwards and when my dad was a teenager Foxworth became my dad's teacher when he joined the Locomotive Preservation Society's dog training program to become a railroad dog, which he passed obviously. Soon he met Hannah after she came back from a rebuild and then he met Buck when the museum bought him from a park in New Mexico. Then afterwards, Kyle came and became a clown for my dad whenever he's down in the dumps. Finally Willoughby arrived in America just as he became mates with my mother and made sure that Australian steamer was welcomed to America warmly. Then they all came together and became very wonderful friends with my dad."

Rita was amazed. Apparently they were really special to Ryan's dad back when he was alive.

"They were devastated when they heard my dad died on January 7th last year. But I know for a fact, my dad loved them when he was here on Earth and he still loves them while he rests in peace in Heaven, making new friends with the engines that were scrapped long ago up there along the way" Ryan finished, rubbing another tear from his eye as the cab rolled over the Brooklyn Bridge.

"I would be too. Your dad sounds like a sweet guy" Rita nodded. Even though she secretly thinks Ryan's dad is spooky because of that nightmare she had one night after yelling at the autistic Dalmatian, which she still regrets doing, she's starting to think the ghostly dog is a very nice guy who would do anything to make sure his son is safe and sound, even if it means he has to be a bad guy. "I'm sure he's thinking about how wonderful you are to him."

The Dalmatian smiled more as they car surfed back to Fagin's boat.

* * *

Later that night, Rita woke up with another whisper from Shaun again. She knew that he was just stopping by to see how his son was doing. However she didn't like being woken up in the middle of the night, but somehow she felt wide awake in the morning after the night Shaun first visited her. Quietly, she slipped out from Ryan's grasped and tip toed out the door, unaware that Tito woke up from Shaun's whispers. The little Chihuahua saw Rita walk quietly up the stairs and, curious of why she was up, followed her quietly up to the dock.

"What the heck is she doing?" thought Tito to himself out loud.

"Hm?" Rita thought she heard the Chihuahua behind her, but when she looked back he wasn't there. Shrugging the thought off, the beautiful female waited patiently for Shaun's ghostly messenger to arrive.

Tito was hiding behind some boxes nearby, watching closely and quietly. He wasn't sure why Rita was just standing around as the fog began to fall down and the air was starting to feel colder than before on a summer night. The atmosphere surrounding him was starting to make the little dog nervous. The whole dock was soon completely covered with fog and the wind slowly began to blow around the Chihuahua and the Saluki. There was a whistle, deep, long and loud, followed by a pair of red lights that shown brightly through the fog. Then, slowly appearing through the foggy night, came a ghostly looking steam engine (unstreamlined Canadian Pacific 2-10-4 Selkirk) that was, like the other messenger Rita met the other night, as white as snow, which made Tito feel scared.

"Ahhh Rita, you seem to be in a cheerful mood" the ghostly engine said as it stopped infront of the Saluki.

Rita nodded, "Of course. I had a little time with Ryan today just to help him get over Michael and his henchmen's run-in yesterday and I thought it'd be best to take him to see his old friends at the museum across the river. He had a great day that's for sure, and so did I."

The engine's mood suddenly changed from happiness to concern. "Yeah... I've come to give you some bad news. The Father of Railroading has given me a message that he needs to tell you. 'I sense trouble coming from Michael and his henchmen. They will be back to bully his son unless he sticks up for himself. The Father of Railroading knows his son is a weak fighter, but he needs to learn how. If Ryan can't fight, He will.'"

Rita gulped nervously. She hated Michael and his henchmen bullying her lover like he was the weakest member of the pack. The last thing she wanted was a very injured autistic Dalmatian moaning and groaning in pain while crying at the same time. She had seen him having a meltdown before and it was not pretty for her or the rest of the gang. With the threat of those mean dogs coming for him soon, Rita looked at the ghostly engine and said with determination: "Tell Ryan's father that me and my friends will do everything it takes to make sure that there are no injuries done to him or anything like that."

Tito just listened quietly and nervously behind the boxes nearby. He had never seen a ghost before in his entire lifetime.

"Very well then" replied the ghost train, "I'll let him know about this. But if you need help from Him, we'll know." Slowly, the engine backed away into the fog and let out a loud shrill of its whistle that made Tito jump and rush down stairs back to bed. As soon as it disappeared into the fog, the fog began to lift itself and the cold air began to go back to normal.

After having a moment of silence to honor Shaun, the Saluki slowly went back to her bed and cautiously snuggled up against Ryan. She looked at her boyfriend and smiled as she heard him snore quietly and mumbled softly. "You're my Ryan baby forever, sweetie. We'll protect you until those meanies are done" whispered Rita quietly. She saw Tito shivering on Einstein's head nearby before he finally went to sleep. For the whole conversation with the ghostly engine, Rita had no idea Tito was watching her talking to the ghost. "huh, looked like Tito saw a ghost" smirked the female dog and slowly went back to sleep.

* * *

 **Finally another chapter to this story! It was on hold cause of things going on in life, thinking of what to put in this chapter and about to start looking for a job soon which I hope I get one after my very first interview and what not. Maybe in the future of this story, not 100% certain, I'll make a chapter that'll focus on Foxworth, Hannah, Buck, Willoughby and Kyle's friendship and what not. Have any ideas for this story, let me know!**

 **Foxworth - CNR 6401**  
 **Hannah - SP 4415**  
 **Buck - ATSF 1382**  
 **Kyle - Central of Georgia 162**  
 **Willoughby - SAR 525**

 **Ryan, Shaun, the Locomotive Preservation Society, Michael and his henchmen, and the engines belong to me.**  
 **Oliver and Company belongs to (C) Disney.**  
 **More chapters coming soon.**  
 **Please review this.**


	6. Mommy issues

**A New Dalmatian on the Block.  
An Oliver and Company fanfic, starring Dodger, Oliver, Francis, Tito, Einstein, Rita, Georgette, Jenny and many others.**

 **Chapter 6: Mommy issues.**

The warning from Ryan's dad was soon heard from Dodger and the rest of the gang the next morning as the gang prepared for another productive day in the city. As much as Rita wanted Ryan to be safe and actually stick up to himself, she thought it would be best if she teaches him how to fight herself and with help from Dodger of course. While that's taken care of, Tito, Francis and Einstein would be doing most of the work stealing stuff that would be worth something in return. They didn't mind of course since they'd rather have Ryan stick up for himself instead of hiding away like a coward if they ever run into Michael and his henchmen again. All in all, everything worked out fine and nobody complained, except Tito not getting to teach Ryan more.

Around lunch time, Einstein and Tito were walking around in the alleys of Manhattan, looking for something to eat for lunch. They haven't eaten for a while, not since after breakfast which was mostly hotdogs, and were hoping to find something good to eat. They kept searching through dumpsters and trash cans until Einstein's nose picked up something that smelled delicious to him. It smelled like heaven to him as the smell of something freshly cooked hung in the air. All of a sudden, he began to race off to where the smell was coming from, making Tito and Francis chase after the Great Dane. The galloping old dog knocked everything out of his path as he kept running and running towards the smell, until eventually he reached a small alley.

The smell was coming from a bowl full of spaghetti and meatballs that were sitting in the middle of what appears to be a little fortress. There were sheets of metal, some old torn mattresses, a couple of pillows and what's more strange is the many pictures and drawings of what appears to be some cute little puppy that looks like Ryan. It was an odd place to put a fortress like this up, but the big question is who put it up?

"What's all this about?" Francis asked suspiciously as he looked around the whole fort. He was thinking this place was some sort of trap set up by Michael's henchmen to see if they can trap the Dalmatian.

Einstein didn't care, "free food Franics!"

But before the Great Dane could make a leap of faith towards the free spaghetti, a large dog jumped infront of him, Tito and Francis, startling them as she growled at them. The female was a full grown Dalmatian with black ears, pink eyelids, pink lipstick covering her lips and had beautiful sapphire eyes. She looked beautiful to the boys even when she's angry and growling at them like she was gonna attack them.

"What are you here for!?" she snarled under her shiny clean teeth.

"Whoa easy their ma'am!" Francis said, making a "calm down" gesture. The Bulldog wasn't looking forward to picking a fight with a female dog like this one. "We're not here to hurt you or anything. Our friend Einstein here just led us here because he had smelled your food there."

Tito looked at the female canine with interest. To the little dog, she looked like a role model and very beautiful like Georgette. "Ooo la la! Hola senora! My name is Ignacio Alonzo Julio Federico de Tito. You look hot hot hot!" The Chihuahua smooched his lips at the female Dalmatian, but gets a blow to the face by her fist, leaving a black eye on his right eye. "Ow! Chill senora!"

"You deserve it!" growled the Dalmatian. "You deserve it cause I saw you. I saw what you have done to my son! You made him a thief, a crook, a horrible person!"

Tito, Einstein and Francis' eyes nearly popped out! The pictures of Ryan and the female Dalmatian made perfect sense now. This particular female Dalmatian, with a beautiful face and gorgeous looks, was Ryan's mother, the same mom that left him all alone at the park when his dad died! The 3 of them never really thought that their autistic friend's mother was still alive and well after being separated from her. This was really shocking to them! "You're Ryan's m-m-mom?!"

The female canine nodded angrily. She walked around them like a shark circling around its pray, still angry as heck. "Yes, my son! I've seen what you've done to him, making him steal food, stuff and all sorts of things just so you can survive! When I gave birth to him, I've wanted to make sure he doesn't become a crook like you and be more like his father! But you, you mongrels made him a crook! I hope Shaun brings you to hell! I never want to see my son ever again thanks to you! Get out of my sight!" Her eyes began to tear a she shouted at the 3 of them.

Tito, Einstein and Francis starred at her for a couple of moments in silence. While they were out and about stealing stuff with Ryan, this female dog must've been watching them in the shadows, devastated that her one and only son was becoming a street dog. They knew it wasn't their fault for all of this, it was the way it is to survive New York City and they love having their autistic friend around whenever they needed his brains. It was the way it is. The 3 of them decided not to hang around with this canine no more and immediately left the alley, leaving the female dog alone, by herself in tears. As they left the alley, Francis made it clear to the others to never mention this to Ryan or else he'll be devastated. With their decision made, it was best that they go find something else to eat.

* * *

Meanwhile in an alleyway somewhere near Central Park, Dodger and Rita were still teaching Ryan how to defend himself. So far things haven't improved on Ryan's fighting skills because of his fear of hurting the wrong person when he's angry, despite Rita saying not to worry about that. But because of his autism, he did worry about it and haven't improved as Rita and Dodger were hoping he would.

"Ok honey, I have an idea" Rita said as she stood behind her boyfriend. She told Dodger to stand infront of him, just like Michael did to the Dalmatian when they ran into each other the other day. "Dodger, act like Michael."

Dodger nodded and grinned evily like Michael did to Ryan. "Hello cry baby" he said, putting on his best act, sounding almost like Michael. Not bad for a dog who's not done acting before. "I see you can't fight at all. Mmmmm, your mother doesn't love you no more. She doesn't want to see you any..." But before Dodger could act more, a fist came and slammed right into his "fun zone", making the dog yelp in pain and lay on the ground.

"MY MOTHER LOVES ME YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF CRAP!" Ryan growled with fury, his face turning bright red. "I WILL BE YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE IF YOU DON'T LEAVE ME BE!" He took deep breaths before he began to cry, realizing what he has done. As he cried his eyes out, the Dalmatian began to take deep breaths as fast as he could, making Rita look concerned.

Gentle not to startle her sweetheart, Rita hugged her boyfriend gently and began to massage his head carefully like Fagin did yesterday morning. "Calm down honey" she soothed, "it was only to make you stick up for yourself, and it worked. Though not what I was expecting." She looked at the groaning Dodger, who was still holding his "fun zone" like a cry baby.

"I'm sorry Dodger! I didn't mean it!" Ryan exclaimed with worry and sadness.

Dodger chuckled, sounding like Mickey Mouse because of him being punched in the "fun zone". "That's ok Ryan, you showed us that you can really fight when you're angry. Though my acting 101 went a little too far!" he laughed as he kept laying on the ground in pain. "So much for acting."

Ryan began to laugh a little from Dodger's voice. His laugh sounded kinda funny to Rita and Dodger which made them laugh too. It sounded like a duck quacking loudly (sorta like James May's laugh from Top Gear UK) and a little bit of wheezing. They had never heard him laugh like that before, nor have they ever heard him laugh since he started living with them.

"Ryan, what is that noise?!" Rita laughed. "You... you sound like a duck quacking. Quack! Qua... HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"I can't... I can't breathe!" chuckled Dodger, still in his Mickey Mouse voice. Tears began to fall down his face as he continued laughing out loud.

A few laughs later, Ryan began to hiccup loudly. "Oh now you done it Dodger, you gave me the hiccups" he said, finally calming down as tears fell down his red face from all his laughing. "Let's just get back to work or something!"

Dodger and Rita agreed.

* * *

That evening at the barge, after Dodger recovered from the blow Ryan gave him, everyone was relaxing after a hard day of stealing. They managed to steal a couple of good stuff such as a new radio Ryan got, some old hubcaps provided by Tito, a stress ball that Rita got just for her boyfriend, and several other things. Heck, even Ryan managed to steal a box full of warm pizza for dinner which was what Rita and the Dalmatian were chowing down on. Francis, Tito and Einstein were awfully quiet throughout the whole afternoon for some reason the others didn't know about and Tito still has his black eye from Ryan's mother. This made Rita a bit puzzled.

"Einy?" Rita asked the Great Dane softly after finishing a slice of pizza. She could see something was bothering the old dog and was keen to cheering him up. He'd never been sad before. Never, except when Ryan left the night he had that meltdown after she yelled at him. "Are you ok?"

Einstein looked up at Rita and shook his head. "I just feel sorry about Ryan" he whispered so Ryan couldn't hear him, "today we had a run in with someone who doesn't love him anymore, and it's really sad. We're not bad dogs for taking him in, are we Rita?"

Rita gave Einy a friendly nuzzle to the cheek with a soft smile. "Of course we're not Einy, it was the right thing to do. He's safe and sound with us, we taught him how to survive, we're teaching him how to stick up for himself, all sorts of good stuff. And the best part, we're making him feel like this world does need him a lot." She then suddenly frowned, "Who is this person that doesn't love our Ryan anymore? Is it one of his friends, or someone he use to know?"

Einstein looked at Ryan, who was too busy eating the crust off his pizza to hear the conversation. After making sure he was busy with himself, he whispered into Rita's ear: "It's Ryan's mom."

The Saluki's eyes shot wide with horror. She had no idea Ryan's mother was still alive after all this time! Her expression soon changed from horror to anger. How could Ryan's mom not love him? It was both heartbreaking and mean, especially to a dog like her boyfriend. It was time Rita pays a visit to this mother of Ryan's. "Where is she Einy? I wanna have a talk with her!"

After Einstein told Rita where the female Dalmatian was the last time they saw her, the Saluki stomped over towards Dodger and told him to come with her. When he said "yes", the two of them bolted up the stairs and into the city, leaving Ryan confused. "Where are they going?"

Tito looked at Ryan and simply shrugged. "I don't know man, maybe they're going out to get you a present or something for your birthday."

* * *

Back at the homemade fort the female Dalmatian had made in the alley, the canine was laying on some pillows in sadness. She was still disappointed about her son now being a street dog, after all those years raising a precious little puppy who turns out to become a street dog for no apparent reason. It was very devastating to her since she hoped he doesn't become a thief. Her train of depression was soon halted when she saw Dodger and Rita at the other end of the alley, looking mad at her. Sensing trouble, the female Dalmatian lowered her head and growled with fury at them.

"We need to talk!" Rita snarled as she walked towards the female spotted dog with anger. "Look ma'am, I don't know what your issue is, but you gotta understand that your son Ryan, who's also my boyfriend, is still the same son you raised until you abandoned him! Unlike what you did, we're not just gonna abandon him just because your husband died! Not only that, we're showing him how to stick up for himself! He's in our family and he loves it, but he..."

The female Dalmatian growled louder, interrupting Rita's speech. "Your family?! He's my son! I raised him pretty darn good unlike you 2 dirty thieves! You made him dirty, crooked and make him steal from other people!" Fury, anger and stress filled her mind at the thought of her one and only son stealing things from people and trash cans like he was a homeless wreck. It was miserable and downright shameful to her, but Ryan had no choice but to do all those things to survive.

Dodger and Rita began to circle around the canine while she did the same thing, almost like what a sumo wrestler would do in a wrestling match. Lighting lit up the sky as rain started to poor down from the clouds, soaking the dogs' fur as they kept circling around.

"You should see yourself toots; living in an alleyway in your specially made fort with no collar and no home. I can tell by the looks in your eyes you know I'm right and you're wrong!" Dodger said. "He loves being with us and is thankful he's got friends like us around besides being left alone in a box thanks to some mother who doesn't love him anymore!"

With more anger inside her body, the female Dalmatian stopped and is preparing to attack both Dodger and Rita. Though she was out numbered, she still wanted to teach them a lesson they'll never forget. "Give me my son back, you... you nasty mutts with no life! He belongs to me!"

"That's not gonna happen!" Rita and Dodger said at the same time.

Receiving their answer, the Dalmatian leaped towards Dodger and tackled him to the ground, starting the dogfight. They yelped and barked as they fought each other like mad dogs. Rita soon joined in the fight to assist Dodger, attacking the female Dalmatian with a lot of fury in her mind. She was mad at the female because of the way she called her and Dodger "dirty thieves" and how she left Ryan all alone when he was just young. It reminded her of how she lost her mom, her dad and her 2 sisters she really cared about! The fighting went on and on for a good while, until...

"ENOUGH!" shouted a thundering voice as a bolt of lighting hit right in the middle of the fight, making all 3 dogs jump back and hit their backs and sides against some trash. Standing in the middle of the alley was Shaun, though not looking like what he was last time Rita saw him. Instead of looking all white like most ghosts are, his body was a tad bit red with anger while most of it was all shadowy. Rita supposed it was his anger side.

"Shaun!" said the female Dalmatian, relieved to see her husband again. She didn't care if he was a ghost or not, all she cared was that he was most likely here to protect her. "Thank goodness you're here! These 2 mutts stole our son and turned him into a thief!"

Shaun looked at Dodger and Rita and then back at his wife. "honey, they're ok."

Dodger looked at Shaun in horror. Like Tito, this was the first time he'd seen a ghost before and the first time seeing Shaun. He really never thought he would actually meet Ryan's dad in his lifetime since he's dead, but meeting his ghostly self? That was never really thought of before! He shivered with fear as the ghostly canine looked at him with his ghostly eyes. "P-P-Please man... we didn't mean to cause any harm, honest" Dodger shivered.

"Relax Dodge, he's a friend" Rita said with ease.

"Rita" squealed Dodger, "do you even know what he is?! He's a freakin' ghost!"

Rita nodded her head slightly, "yes, he's also Ryan's dad, though I never really thought he looked like that before I first met him. No offense."

"None taken" Shaun replied.

"So you're taking the thieves' side?!" shouted the female Dalmatian with anger. "Shaun, these two taught our son to be a street dog and steal stuff! They deserve to be punished for their crimes!"

Shaun looked at his mate with a stern look before walking up to her side, quiet but sternly. "Marlene, these two are not criminals or anything of the sort" he said quietly, his voice whispering in the wind. "What we have here, are heroes. They've saved our son from being 'put to sleep' at the Humane Society. True the Saluki yelled at our son one night, but she and her friends saved him from joining me. He wasn't ready to join me, and he'll never be ready. Not yet, not next year, not even in a few years. They saved him and our taking care of him no matter what. Our son actually followed this one" he pointed to Dodger who simply waved slightly, "to his home where he's now safe and sound, even if it means he's a street dog now. If you don't believe me, ask them!"

Marlene looked at both Dodger and Rita with shock. She wasn't aware that her very own son followed Dodger to the boat where he now calls home, and she wasn't aware these two saved her one and only son from being "put to sleep". The first time she'd watch her son and Dodger's gang together, she had seen him steal food from some people without being noticed. It was hard to believe it, but she had to find out if her husband was right. "Is it true?" she asked with surprise.

"More or less" Dodger replied with his trademark grin on his face. "You see I found him in an alley one day and then I asked him to help me steal some hotdogs. After we stole the hotdogs, he followed me home like a stray and then he ran into the rest of my friends. Our old man Fagin said he could stay with us since he didn't have a home after running away from his old master's place where the parents were going to take him to the humane society and 'put him to sleep'. We taught him everything he needs to know on how to survive the city, such as stealing food, car surfing and all that good stuff we normally do. Heck, we even got him to meet our cat friend Oliver."

Rita nodded quietly to Marlene. She had been quiet throughout the whole conversation. "One night he was captured by the dog catcher and we saved him just before he was going to be killed" she added, "after that, he's been staying with us ever since."

Marlene shook her head in response, still a bit mad at Dodger and Rita for making him a street dog. Things were not the same without Shaun and the female Dalmatian was still living in her old master's home in Manhattan, alone, sad and disappointed. A few nights after even leaving Ryan in the box, she found that her son was not in there, making her feel ashamed of herself. Eventually, she was given up for adoption and was adopted by another rich family in the city who pampered her like she was their prized dog. While living in her new home, she hadn't heard a word about her son which made her worry a lot about him, thinking he was either dead or taken away forever. Like some homeless dogs, Marlene was left abandoned not too long ago and had discovered that Ryan was a street dog like her. Afraid that he would be angry for abandoning him, Marlene hid from him and not wanted to be seen by him ever again.

"Look Marlene" Rita said with ease, "Ryan still loves you and wishes to see you again. He misses you very much, as well as your husband here. He's probably thinking you're dead or something. You should go to him and tell him that you love him still." The Saluki could see a small tear fall from the female Dalmatian's eye, while Shaun just sighed. She didn't get a response back. "If you've made your decision, you'll know where to find us. Let's go Dodge, before Ryan and the others get worried."

Dodger nodded and followed Rita back to the barge, leaving Marlene alone by herself with Shaun. The ghostly Dalmatian watched the 2 canines leave, then looked back at his mate. He shook his head in disbelief and disappointment before he let out a loud howl/whistle and vanishes into thin air.

* * *

When Dodger and Rita got back to the barge, Ryan was asleep in Rita's bed, sleeping like a baby underneath Einstein's body who was providing him warmth. Tito was dancing to some music as always by the radio while Francis was watching tv, kinda what they normally do in the evening. All the boys, except Ryan who's still sleeping, could see that both Dodger and Rita had received some scratches and marks, meaning that they were in a dogfight.

"What happened to you two? Did you guys get in a dogfight!?" Tito exclaimed with glee. He hated missing out on all the action since he loves fights, especially the ones he sees on tv.

"Shhhhh..." whispered Rita quietly, not wanting to wake her boyfriend up. "Yes we have. Me and Dodger paid a little visit to Ryan's mother and confronted her a little bit, but it sort of went a little... messy."

"You killed her?" Einstein asked with shock.

Dodger just chuckled, "No Einy we didn't kill her. We had a dogfight and then this ghost dog Rita knows came in and told us to stop." His mood soon changed, "but listen here you guys. We don't mention about this at all to our friend or else we're going to have a crying dog until God knows how long. Understood?"

The rest of the gang nodded in agreement and went back to what they were doing. Rita on the other hand was concerned for her boyfriend as she walked over towards him. If her sweetheart found out about his mother not loving him because he's a street dog, he would be devastated than ever. Who would say something like that about him? It would surely break his heart forever, the only living member of his family not loving him anymore because he's homeless. She could imagine none stop crying for several days, not being able to calm down or anything, tears and tissues lying around, or worse, he could attempt suicide!

"No!" Rita thought to herself as the idea of Ryan committing suicide floated into her brain. "He would never do that! He shouldn't. Never! Not before his birthday." She looked down at the sleeping Dalmatian, who had been fast asleep before until both her and Dodger came home. Seeing him stutter a little bit, probably having a nightmare again, Rita carefully put the toy train she gave him in his paws, making him stopped stuttering and smile. "Don't worry Ryan baby, we'll always be here for you. Always."

 **Please review this.**  
 **More chapters coming soon.**  
 **Ryan, Marlene, Shaun, Michael and his henchmen belong to me.**  
 **Oliver and Company belongs to (C) Disney.**


	7. Surprises!

**A New Dalmatian on the Block.  
An Oliver and Company fanfic, starring Dodger, Oliver, Francis, Tito, Einstein, Rita, Georgette, Jenny and many others.  
**

 **Chapter 7: Surprises!**

It was only a couple of days away until Ryan's birthday finally arrives as the gang got up the next morning, getting ready to start looking for birthday gifts for the autistic dog. They wanted to make sure that they bring him the best birthday gifts ever, mostly stolen stuff from people of course. Dodger and the gang weren't alone however, for Ryan's friends in his old neighborhood and the trains down at the Locomotive Preservation Society's museum in Brooklyn were doing the same thing. It was going to be a busy day for all of them. Rita herself was going to be the busiest since she wanted to make sure her gift was the greatest. She knew her sweetheart loves trains, so she figured she could find another toy train for him. She searched nearly every dumpster she could find, but only found 3 of them that were very badly damaged or not in the best of shape. As she began "shopping", the beautiful Saluki thought about how she lost her mother and how would Ryan react when he finds out about his own mom.

"Concerned about my son are you?"

Rita jumped and looked at a broken mirror nearby. It was only Shaun, who had been watching her do her birthday "shopping". "Yeah, I am" she nodded softly, "I mean, how could a wife like yours not love her son anymore? It's really heart breaking if you think about it! Ryan will be devastated forever if he hears this and I probably will be blamed or something! I just don't know what to do! What if he finds out about this?!"

Shaun looked at the Saluki in silence. He knows Rita was worried about his son finding out his mother was alive and not loving him anymore because he's a street dog. It was devastating for him to even hear about it from his own mate! The ghostly dog shook his head slightly, remembering something from his past. "My father didn't like me because I was... different" he said, disappearing from the mirror and reappearing beside Rita. "He wanted me to be a rough and tough fighting dog like him, but my uncle wanted me to be a railroad dog like him which I did. At first my father didn't want me to be a railroad dog, but before he died, he accepted me being a railroad dog I once was, finally. The only person who supported me was my mom and uncle, along with the engines I became friends with back then."

Rita listened to the ghostly dog with shock. "Why did your father wanted you to be a wrestling dog like him?!" she exclaimed.

Shaun just chuckled, "He wanted me to be like him because he wanted someone to carry on his legacy, being a wrestling dog. I rejected that idea because I thought it was dangerous and very painful for dogs to fight against each other. I wasn't a huge fan of wrestling either. My mate would've told you the same thing too. It's just a bunch of dogs biting and punching each other in a big match, giving one another bruises that are severe or not severe to one's self. I fought with my dad one night because of me not wanting to carry on his legacy. And finally... after several fights later... my father was injured in a match, and had to retire because of some severe bruises."

"What did he say when you told him you weren't gonna carry on his legacy?"

"Ah it was just stress and anger getting over him talks. 'You must carry on my legacy son! You will be a legend like me!' I wanted to become a legend, but not from being punched or hurt by another dog. I told him I wanted to be a railroad dog like my uncle, but he said 'Dalmatians can't be railroad dogs! They're only good at being fire dogs!' I soon proved him wrong. I passed every training I was assigned too. Jumped on top of train cars, guarding a train, everything railroad dogs needed to learn before becoming one" Shaun continued with a grin on his face.

Rita was amazed. She had heard of several dogs that did something else rather than what their breeds were normally good at before. Heck, even some of her old friends she knew when she was a pup did some careers that their normal breeds don't normally do. "Sooo, what's your point, exactly?" she asked with a hint of confusion.

"Well" Shaun finished, "my mate may sound like she doesn't love my son anymore, but inside her heart she still loves him no matter what. It's just that the whole thing may give her stress and she says something she truly never means it. Let me know if you have anymore questions. I have some business to attend to." With his words said, the ghost let out a soft howl/whistle and slowly disappeared in the wind, leaving Rita alone with her "shopping".

With the ghostly Dalmatian gone, Rita went back to her birthday "shopping" for her sweetheart. The thought of what Shaun said to her made her think about what Einstein said what Marlene said about her son. What if Shaun was right and she still loves Ryan, even if he's a street dog? Rita decided to focus more at the task at paw rather than thinking about what Shaun told her. However, she wasn't aware that trouble was rising for her Dalmatian admirer.

* * *

Several blocks away from Central Park, Ryan was wondering around through the alleys, looking a bit lost. He woke up that morning to find out that everyone, except Rita, had disappeared from him. Even though his girlfriend told him not to leave the barge for his own safety and just to take a nice day off, he couldn't help but wonder off anyways to see what his old friends were up to. However, since he doesn't know his way around New York City like a pro, he got himself lost and confused. He car surfed on several vehicles that led him nowhere near his old neighborhood.

"Ok then, maybe I should ask for directions now" he thought to himself. With his decision made, the autistic dog began to look around to find someone who can help give him directions back to the barge. For a while he found nobody, but then he spotted a dog, who was a crossbreed between a Saluki and an Irish Setter. Judging by the looks of the dog's body, it was a female. She had black hair, harvest gold fur on her body and tail, and her eyes were dark blue. He noticed the female looked at him for a quick second and looked away.

"Uh excuse me ma'am?" Ryan asked politely as he walked towards the female canine. "Do you know where the docks are?"

But the female didn't reply. She just grinned deviously as she watched him walking towards her from the corner of her eye.

"Hey!" shouted the Dalmatian, unaware of the situation he's getting himself into, "I'm talking to you ma'am. What do you think I am?!"

Suddenly the female dog spun around and looked at the autistic dog with an evil smile on her face. "A sitting duck!"

Before Ryan could ask her what was she talking about, Michael and his henchmen popped up on both sides of the alleyway, trapping him for good. He couldn't run forward and he couldn't run back the way he came in. He was trapped. The poor dog started to get nervous and moaned with sadness as the female canine, Michael and his henchmen began to circle around him.

"We meet again whimp" Michael said deviously. "Did you miss us?"

Ryan shook his head "no". "N-no I didn't. I was just wondering what took you all so long." He really wasn't looking forward to picking up another fight with his old bullies, even though he knows how to fight back.

"Listen here cry baby" Dart snarled with his sharp teeth showing, "no one beats up our boss like you did the other day, and we know how to punish those who mess with us!"

Ryan's body began to shake violently than ever before. The way Dart said to him made him feel very terrified and worried. These guys were a bit more tougher than him and more vicious than him. Not only that, the main problem was he was out numbered. There was only 1 of him and 5 of them. It was going to go downhill very fast. But before he could think of a way out of this mess, he got knocked out by a falling brick Zack threw at him, making him fall onto the ground flat on his belly.

"Nice one Zack" grinned the Rottweiler evily as he examined the unconscious dog. The Dalmatian was knocked out cold from the hit on the head and it looked like he wouldn't be moving for a good while. He looked at the female canine with a devilish smile. "But you did a fantastic job my sweet Estelle."

Estelle just grinned as her boyfriend rubbed his body against his, "thanks. No one could resist me these days, especially a fool like that one. When you told me he punched you, I had to help. Besides, no one hits my boyfriend like that." She looked at Ryan's unconscious body with a grin. "So what should we do to him to teach him a lesson?"

Michael just chuckled quietly. "Well how about we take him to the old warehouse and chain him up like a worthless dog he is? We should even let him meet Wild Devil."

Estelle's eyes grew wide and her smile grew more devious than before. Wild Devil was the craziest dog in New York City. There were stories of him leaving severe injuries on dogs and humans, even one of them had to go to the hospital because of their wounds. He's like the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes, but more devilish and more scary than the Looney Tunes character. "Ooooo, I like that idea!" she purred.

With their plan agreed, the 5 evil dogs began to carry the unconscious Dalmatian to the old warehouses in Brooklyn where they would be keeping him for a long time.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Rita arrived back at the barge after a busy morning of "shopping" for birthday gifts for her sweetheart. She couldn't find any other trains that would go with the train she gave her a couple of days ago, but she had got some things that might be interesting to the autistic dog such as a stress ball to help calm Ryan's nerves, a little train book that she stole from a book stand and several other things. To carry all her gifts she got for him around, Rita managed to steal a bag and used it to carry the gifts around.

"Oh Ryan baby" she cooed as she walked down the steps to the lower level of the barge, "I'm back from doing my chores." When the beautiful Saluki didn't get a reply, she got a little concerned. _Maybe he's asleep,_ she thought to herself.

Quietly tip toing past her bed, Rita tucked her gifts away in a secluded part of the barge so Fagin doesn't accidentally take them away from her when Ryan's birthday comes. She couldn't wait to see the look on her boyfriend's face when he sees what she and the rest of the gang brought him for his birthday. The joyful smile on the cute Dalmatian's face, the squeal of joy coming from his mouth, followed by the many hugs and kisses she'll receive along with her friends, it would be one of the sweetest moments of her life. When Rita decided to join Ryan in his nap, she was horrified to find out that he wasn't in her bed.

"Oh no! Ryan? Ryan where are you?!" she exclaimed as she ran all over the barge, searching for her missing boyfriend. But no matter where she looked, from the bottom of the boat to the very top, Ryan was nowhere to be found. Worry began to hit Rita more than before as the thought of Michael and his henchmen capturing him and doing bad things to him began to fill her mind. Thinking more about Michael and his henchmen, she hurried out of the boat to find Dodger and the others.

 **Author's Note: Sorry for the wait everyone, I was a little stumped out of ideas for this chapter so that's why it maybe short and jumping to other scenes a little quickly, so sorry about that. With permission from an awesome friend of mine on DA, I've decided to bring his OC in just to add variety and to promote his awesome work. Of course I have permission to do so. Hope you love it man!  
Please review this.  
More chapters coming soon.  
Oliver and Company belongs to (C) Disney.  
Ryan, Shaun, Marlene, Michael, Zack, Dart and Marty belongs to me.  
Estelle belongs to SegaDisneyUniverse on Deviantart. I have permission to use her in this fanfic.**


	8. Chase

**A New Dalmatian on the Block.  
An Oliver and Company fanfic, starring Dodger, Oliver, Francis, Tito, Einstein, Rita, Georgette, Jenny and many others.  
Warning: This chapter contains death, swearing and fighting.  
**

 **Chapter 8: Chase.**

"What do you mean he's missing?!" Dodger exclaimed with horror later that day down in Brooklyn. He was horrified to hear Rita tell him that Ryan was not at the barge when she came home, even though she told him not to leave the boat.

Rita sighed with worry as she walked around in circles. She had searched nearly every part of New York City she knows by heart and sadly couldn't find any trace of her boyfriend. It was like he just ran away forever or disappeared into thin air. "He's just missing Dodge!" she exclaimed out loud. "I searched everywhere for him and even asked the kid if he'd seen him! I don't know what happened, but he'd most likely got captured by those evil mutts!"

Dodger growled with furry as the thought of Michael and his henchmen taking Ryan hostage flew into his mind. He hated those mean dogs. Picking on an autistic dog like Ryan was hurtful and downright mean, especially to the sensitive dog. If those guys were going to do something painful to his Dalmatian friend, they would have to go through Dodger and the rest of the gang. The mutt gave out a soft sigh, still fuming with furry as he tried to think of a way to find Ryan, or better yet rescue him from any danger that he's in.

"May I help mates?" came an Australian voice.

Dodger and Rita looked and saw Willoughby taking on water nearby. The SAR 520 class had heard everything while taking on water and wanted to help the 2 dogs find his canine friend and rescue him from grave danger.

"Uhhh... who are you?" Dodger asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This is Willoughby, one of Ryan's train friends. Willoughby, this is Dodger, one of my friends that live with me and Ryan at the boat." Rita introduced, gesturing to one another as she did so. "And Willoughby, how could you help us? You can only travel by rail."

Willoughby smiled with determination. "Because tonight I've been chosen to do the nightshift down at the docks. I could search for him while I do my work down there. Besides, the job would be boring as crap, so I might as well do something else while I'm down there."

Rita and Dodger thought about Willoughby's idea for a moment. True he would help them try to find Ryan, but they weren't sure how he would be able to find him since he was a train and not a dog. For all they know, Michael and his henchmen could be in an old apartment building nowhere near the tracks and nowhere near Willoughby. But they couldn't refuse the handsome engine's offer and agreed that he could help.

"I'll come with you then" Rita nodded her head, "If those guys want to pick on my sweetheart, then they're gonna have to deal with me too."

"Great! Meet me here at 9:00. If you're not here by then, I'll be down near Newtown Creek!" With that, the streamlined engine chuffed off to work, leaving Rita to figure out what else she was going to do. She hadn't figured out what she would do to rescue Ryan since she doesn't know if he was in danger or not, but when the Saluki confirms that Ryan's in trouble, she would figure out the rest of her plan later. Unknown to her, Dodger or Willoughby, a stranger was lurking in the shadows nearby. She didn't make a sound, nor did she say anything, but her face turned from worry to anger as she watched the 3 of them leave.

"So will I" she muttered softly.

* * *

9:00 struck that night as Willoughby was waiting anxiously for Rita to come at the Locomotive Preservation Society's museum near the Brooklyn Bridge. He had plenty of steam in his boiler and was sizzling nicely. His headlight shown brightly in the night sky as he waited for the canine to arrive. Some engines, like Willoughby, are often given the task to do the nightshift down near Newtown Creek. The nightshift is mostly a switching job where the engine would have to switch some cars around at the industries that transport their goods by rail and get them ready for tomorrow morning. Just before the engine could leave, he saw Rita running up towards him.

"There you are Rita!" said the 4-8-4 as the Saluki hopped into his cab, "I was just about to leave without you."

"Sorry, I had to sneak out so Fagin doesn't know I'm missing" Rita apologized as she sat down in the middle of the cab. She started to feel warm thanks to the warmth of the firebox infront of her. She looked around at her surroundings inside the cab, seeing a whole lot of levers, valves, gauges and a cord. The canine had never been inside a steam locomotive's cab before in her life, but she was very certain her boyfriend knew every control inside Willoughby's cab.

Giving two toots of his whistle, the Australian engine chuffed away into the darkness and off to the yard along the Newtown Creek. The city lights across the river was breath taking as the 2 of them rolled down the line at a steady speed. As they did so however, fog began to appear. There wasn't any call for fog to arrive that night, but Rita probably knew why there was fog. Shaun's ghost was lurking about somewhere. Then, the canine and the engine heard whispers coming from all directions, with no one in sight.

"Alright I'm not an expert on ghost hunting stuff, but those whispers sound like Ryan's dad Shaun whispering to us" concluded Willoughby with a little bit of fear. He hasn't heard Shaun since the last time they talked to each other which was a month before Shaun's death in the train wreck. "Who's there?" There was no reply, besides the whispers echoing through the buildings nearby.

Rita was starting to shake like a leaf. The whispers sounded just like the ones from her nightmare she had when she first met Shaun a couple of days ago and these ones sound as spooky as the ones from her nightmare. Things do not sound good, especially if Shaun's around while his son is in danger.

Just near the yard a few moments later, Rita spotted something hanging around through the fog. It was glowing bright red and was flickering on and off, making her feel a little more scared. "What's that?" she asked as Willoughby stopped. It was a railroad lantern, hanging on the side of a building as the wind blew around it, making it move around a little.

"It's Shaun's warning lantern" Willoughby answered. "That tells us there's danger around. Apparently Ryan's around here somewhere in the yard, but where exactly?" He started looking around the area and was startled to see what appeared to be a Dalmatian's left front paw laying on the track infront of him. It certainly wasn't Ryan's that's for sure, so it had to been Shaun's. This made both Rita and Willoughby feel tense. They felt more tense when they saw Shaun's ghost vanish into thin air nearby, along with his left front paw on the track.

"O-ok then, we should get going then." Rita stuttered and got out of the engine's cab, walking towards the yard.

"I agree!" nodded the 4-8-4 and followed close to Rita.

But as the two of them neared the yard, the dark sky began to go pitch black. Even though the sky was darker than normal around the yard for reasons Rita and Willoughby didn't want to know, they could still see where they were going ahead of them a little thanks to the yard lights and some nearby building lights. One of those building lights was an old warehouse that had shadows moving around inside. The shadows were shaped as dogs, most of which Rita recognized while there was only one she didn't recognized at first. Running up towards the old warehouse, she jumped up onto some old crates to peek inside a nearby window. She was horrified to see a chained up Ryan on a nearby support beam. His right rear leg was chained up by a dog leash that was too tight for his leg, unable for him to pull his foot free while Michael, his henchmen and Estelle laughed at him deviously.

"Oh no! Not that bitch!" exclaimed Rita when she saw Estelle.

Willoughby called out nearby, "What's the matter? Do you see anything?"

Rita looked back at the 4-8-4. "Yes" she replied, "I found Ryan, but he chained up by those bullies and Estelle. She's like tougher than tough and meaner than the mean. She's been causing a lot of trouble for everyone in the city, thus making her a sole target for dog catchers. She is not one to be messed with, and she's got Ryan in there!"

Willoughby was horrified. "So why don't we go in there and rescue him? After all, they're not expecting us to come around."

"I highly doubt that's a good idea" protested the Saluki in disbelief. It was true that those mean dogs weren't expecting her and her train friend, but it wasn't going to be easy trying to get Ryan out while Estelle, Michael and his henchmen were around so sneaking in wasn't the best option unless those bullies have left. "Well, at least it can't get any worse."

"Zack, Dart, bring out Wild Devil!" Estelle shouted. As soon as she said that, Zack and Dart walked over towards a dark corner of the building to fetch Wild Devil, making Ryan moan and yelp in fear.

"NO! PLEASE LET ME GO! ANYBODY BUT HIM!" shouted the Dalmatian at the top of his lungs, who had no idea who Wild Devil is. He expected it to be some kind of vicious dog, judging by the name he or she goes by. He expected it to be dripping blood from his or her mouth. He expected it to be... "A poodle?" Ryan began to feel a little relief, as Zack and Dart escorted what appears to be a small poodle with purple fur on his head, neck and tail. He looked more adorable than vicious.

Rita chuckled quietly as she watched from her window. "That's what Wild Devil is? A small harmless poodle?" she chuckled to herself.

Her chuckle ended unexpectedly, for when Michael and the others left the poodle alone with Ryan, the poodle's expression soon changed from a soft and gentle smile to a more vicious and mad dog like look on his face, making both Ryan and Rita startle.

"Ohhh, so that's why he's called 'Wild Devil'. Makes sense now!" gulped the Saluki from her window. She had to do something and fast. With Michael and the others left, it was time for her to make her move.

Ryan meanwhile was having the most terrifying experience he had ever had in his life. The poodle was growling as loud as he can before he began to attack the defenseless Dalmatian. His teeth were as sharp as a drawing knife, ripping off some of the poor dog's fur as the poodle bit Ryan's leg like nothing. The sharp pain in the Dalmatian's leg made him yelp and yell loudly in pain and agony, with tears falling down his face as he tried to yell out for help and tried to make the poodle stop biting him like he was a chew toy. His leg began to feel some injuries, painful injuries that is, along with teeth marks. He couldn't take it anymore, and gave the poodle a big smack to the face, which was a terrible mistake. The poodle growled at Ryan with even more fury and rage, with his eyes blood red and his teeth still shining.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" quivered the defenseless dog as more tears rolled down his face. He tried to pull himself free from the leash he was chained up to, but he couldn't. All he could do was accept his faith; being chewed up by a mad poodle thinking that he's a piece of bacon. "PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!"

His wish came true, when Willoughby bust through the main doors with a CRASH, sending the doors flying and some bricks falling down onto his streamlining. His paint was a little scratched and his pilot was a little dented, but that didn't matter to him as he came to a stop, wheeshing loudly. "Ding-dong, it's kicking ass time!" he said in a mocking tone! As soon as he stopped, Rita jumped out of his cab and began to tackle the poodle to the ground. She growled and snarled as she bit the poodle fiercely and with rage.

"Hands off my sweetheart!" she growled and threw the dog across the room, making the poodle smack against a brick wall. Before she could pounce on him again, a net dropped from the ceiling all of a sudden and trapped the poodle underneath it. Rita looked up and saw Ryan's mom Marlene! "Marlene?!"

"Did you miss me?" smirked the female Dalmatian. She pushed a giant hook off the edge which landed on the chain leading to Ryan's leash and snaps it, freeing the autistic mutt from the support beam. Carefully getting down onto the ground, the beautiful female Dalmatian hugged her son tightly, making Ryan look shocked!

"Mom?!" exclaimed the autistic mutt with glee as he hugged back. He was so happy to see his mom again, after such a long time without his mom on his side and protecting him from grave danger. "I can't believe it's you! After all these years without you, I thought you were dead as a dead rat!"

Marlene smiled softly. Tears began to form in her eyes as she examined her slightly injured son. She could see some bruises on her son's leg and a couple of other scratches on his body here and there, but at least he was alive and not dead. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this to you again." Carefully, Ryan's mom began to rub Ryan's head softly with her paw, singing a soft melody quietly.

Rita and Willoughby smiled warmly as they watched the two dogs have a nice loving reunion. It was one of the cutest things they have ever seen in their lives; a mother and son, having not seen each other for a long time, giving each other hugs and kisses. It was so touching too, it made Rita cry a little. The moment was spoiler when Estelle and Michael spotted them from up above. They were not happy that Ryan was free and Wild Devil was trapped.

"Grrrrr... boys, come and kill that worthless dog!" Michael shouted out loud.

Marlene, with help from Rita, helped her son get into Willoughby's cab. "Hurry sweetie, quickly! Me and your sweetheart are going to help you!"

"So am I Ryan. I'm not gonna let you die today!" With sparks flying from his smokestack, Willoughby reversed out of the building and out onto the open line. The sparks flew everywhere and landed on some old newspapers nearby, setting them on fire. Within seconds, the fire grew bigger and bigger, assuming that Shaun was making the blaze grow on purpose. As the fire grew bigger and bigger, Estelle, Michael and his henchmen ran after the fleeing mutts and engine, leaving Wild Devil alone and trapped inside the burning warehouse.

"We are out of here!" shouted Rita as Willoughby rushed out of the yard. Looking back at the burning building, she watched in awe as the building began to crumble down with a loud rumble and debris falling to the ground, killing the little poodle inside. She snapped her fingers when she spotted the evil dogs chasing after them.

Running down the track, Willoughby passed by Kyle and Foxworth who were just coming back from delivering supplies for some workmen down the line who were repairing a bridge. They were surprised to see Willoughby, Rita, Ryan and Marlene pass by them in a hurry. "Hey Willoughby, where you going?!"

"Away from those evil dogs chasing us!" replied the Australian engine as he rushed out of sight.

Kyle looked a little worried, "Watch out for the bridge! It's dangerous!" As he watched the evil dogs chase after the 4-8-4, he saw a white steam locomotive pass by him. He thought it was some stranger going to help his friends, but he looked terrified when the engine disappeared as it growled softly. "AHH!"

"What's the matter?" asked Foxworth.

"Shaun!" replied the GP9, "that engine that disappeared was Shaun! He had come back from the dead..."

"...as a ghost!" said Foxworth and Kyle at the same time. They looked to where the dogs and the engines went, still a bit terrified. "AHHHHH!"

* * *

Meanwhile down the line, the evil dogs managed to catch up to Willoughby, Rita, Ryan and Marlene on the rooftops of some buildings along the railroad line. Their moods obviously have not changed. With their friend burned to death and their suppose home destroyed, they were furious at the Dalmatian for what he'd done. Their eyes looked at the autistic mutt, who was inside Willoughby's cab with Rita and Marlene.

"You're going to pay for this you worthless dog!" Estelle snarled with fury.

Willoughby looked back at the evil dogs on the rooftops, "No you won't, you evil canines! Because the Father of Railroading will get the better of you!"

"You can run, but you can't hide!" Michael laughed as he and his henchmen jumped down onto the engine's tender. "Now then, where were we? Oh yes, rip his head off!"

Ryan finally had enough. Ever since he knew those bullies of his, he had been knocked down, picked on and been called mean things, but it was time that he'd finally stood up and fight. "Not today!" he said bravely as he put up his fists. He saw Marty jumped towards him and the Dalmatian gave him a blow to the face, making some teeth come flying out of his mouth. Ryan backed away from Marty and bumps into the cab door, which was closed for the moment as Marty got back up. As the German Shepherd got up with rage, Ryan had an idea to get rid of Marty. When Marty leaped into the air to pounce on top of him, the Dalmatian quickly opened the cab door and dodged the German Shepherd, making him fall out the cab and hitting a nearby pole, killing him instantly.

"Haha!" laughed Ryan as he pointed back at the dead German Shepherd. He yelped when he was suddenly pulled by Michael and the side of his head collided with the firebox door, which was hot thanks to the heat behind the firebox door. His side of his face started to fizzle from the heat of the door as his face was smooshed up by the Rottweiler.

"Major ouch" Rita said before biting the Rottweiler's tail, making him shout in pain. Pulling him back by his legs, she made the hurt dog slide back into the coal bunker and started biting the crap out of him, leaving marks all over him. Her anger was as high than ever as she bit the Rottweiler roughly. "No one beats up my Ryan! NOBODY!" She started strangling the canine's neck fiercely, making him choke. She growled furiously, leaning close to the choking dog's face. "This is what you get when you mess with us!" Quickly, she tossed him out the cab and he smashed into a garbage can head first.

Zack was busy biting Marlene meanwhile, leaving some teeth marks and torn up fur on her. He laughed viciously and goofishly as he kept on attacking the female Dalmatian, who yelped in reply. Ryan wanted to help his mom, but Dart kept him back, preventing him from helping his mom. However, as both Dart and Zack fought the firebox door suddenly opened, letting out a huge ball of flame into the cab. Through the flames was Shaun, who was really looking furious at the 2 mutts. "You know life has punishments, but yours will be worse than anyone else!" Terrified by the ghost's appearance, the two of them let go of Ryan and Marlene and jumped out of the cab, making them tumble in the ballast.

"Worthless fools!" Estelle snapped, "I'll deal with him myself!" She jumped down into the coal bunker of the tender and stared angrily at Ryan. She growled under softly as she walked towards him. "You can't defeat me, you're just a big, worthless, whimpy, Dalmatian!"

Ryan stood his ground, ready to fight back. "Not a big worthless whimpy Dalmatian. I'm the big worthless whimpy Dalmatian." With his words said, he began to bite the harvest gold colored dog harshly and their dog fight began. They barked, snarled and bit each other angrily inside the cab, while Marlene and Rita watched with horror. To Rita's surprised, it looked like Ryan was starting to win the fight. He trampled on the evil dog, bit her and smacked her. But her relief was soon ended, when Willoughby suddenly began to put on his brakes hard, making them fall to the ground. While Estelle and Ryan were fighting, Willoughby had reached the bridge Kyle warned him about. It was a large steel bridge that crossed the river and it was high up from the river to allow barges pass underneath it smoothly. The bridge was undergoing repairs that night, but it was unsafe for trains to cross over. Willoughby braked as hard as he could, trying to stop in time! But it was too late. He slid right towards the middle of the bridge which collapsed right infront of him. He didn't dare move an inch as he looked down at the river below. This unfortunately distracted Ryan, which gave Estelle the chance to knock him down. She forced her paw into the side of Ryan's face, giving him a massive blow and making Ryan black out.

"Now to finish you once and for all!" snapped Estelle as she dragged him out onto the front of the locomotive. "You've killed my boyfriend, defeated his henchmen and destroyed my home! I will make sure you'll be rotting at the bottom of the river where you will die and be no more! And your defeat will lay in the paws of Estelle, the toughest dog of New York." Before she could throw him off the bridge, Marlene tackled her to the ground, forcing her to drop Ryan as she rolled with the female Dalmatian towards the ledge of the bridge, just as Ryan was regaining conscious.

Quick to thinking, Marlene grabbed onto a piece of rail tightly, dangling both her and Estelle over the river. Estelle was holding onto Marlene's back paws for dear life, not wanting to let go. Rita and Willoughby were horrified and so was Ryan, who just laid on the ground as Rita rushed over to help Marlene back up. But she refused.

"I can't go on like this, Rita" said the female Dalmatian to Rita. "It's not worth living like this anymore. It's time for me to go."

Rita looked at her with tears in the Saluki's eyes. "No you can make it. Just grab my paw."

But still, Marlene refused to take her paw. "No. I know for a fact my mate is waiting for me. I must reunite with him. You take care of my son... and tell him, I said 'Goodbye'." She looked down at an angry Estelle who was trying to climb back up to safety, "You're not going anywhere. Cause I'm taking you down with me... bitch!" With her last words said, the female Dalmatian let go of the rail and both her and Estelle fell from the bridge and down towards the river.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Ryan shouted at the top of his lungs.

There was a loud thud and a splash coming from the bottom of the bridge. Rita and Ryan looked down and stood there in silence. At the bottom of the bridge was a barge full of sludge that was passing under the bridge slowly, with a completely dirty Estelle in the barge, but a now dead Marlene laying on the outer edge of the barge's gondola. Estelle didn't say nothing as the barge floated away down the river. There was a moment of silence, minus the sniffling coming from the autistic mutt.

"And your defeat lay in the paws of Marlene, the Father of Railroading's mate!" Willoughby said to break the silence.

As Ryan watched the barge float away, carrying his death mother aboard, he slowly closed his eyes sadly and passed out again, with a tear falling down his face and into the water below. His one and only mother, was no more.

 **Please review this.  
More chapters coming soon.  
Oliver and Company belongs to (C) Disney.  
Ryan, Shaun, Marlene, Willoughby, Foxworth, Kyle, Michael, Zack, Dart and Marty belongs to me.  
Estelle belongs to SegaDisneyUniverse on Deviantart. I have permission to use her in this fanfic**


	9. Recovering from the lost

**A New Dalmatian on the Block.  
An Oliver and Company fanfic, starring Dodger, Oliver, Francis, Tito, Einstein, Rita, Georgette, Jenny and many others.**

 **Chapter 9: Recovering from the lost.**

"okay people," muttered Ryan as his eyes were shut, "we're going to be talking about bat people. what do we know about them? Bat people can screw you up like you were trying to figure out a math problem in school, and then you realize you just got owned by a pile of..."

When Ryan came through once again, he was being carried in Fagin's arms with Rita surrounding him and looking at him with worry in her eyes as they walked inside the Foxworths' mansion. After the poor Dalmatian passed out, Willoughby rushed both Ryan and Rita back to the museum where Rita, with help from his ghostly father, carried him all the way back to the barge. There she showed Fagin the unconscious Dalmatian and he immediately took him to the vet where the doctors operated on Ryan. The poor dog suffered a few stiches on his left front paw thanks to the bullies, a broken rib, a dislocated finger on his front left paw which was put back in place, a minor cut on his forehead from Michael and his henchmen's claws, a couple of broken teeth and a broken right back leg. After being fixed at the vet, the Foxworths' had kindly offered a nice warm shelter for Ryan and offered help to fund his and Rita's medical attention.

As soon as Ryan and the gang walked inside, they were greeted by a concerned Oliver, Dodger and the whole gang. Oliver had heard about the fight while Ryan was at the vet and was concerned about his new friend. He was so concerned, that he stayed up with Dodger and the others almost the whole night. Everyone wanted to know about the whole fight, but since Ryan was in the worst mood ever, Rita kindly offered to tell the whole gang everything while Ryan takes a nice long rest.

"ow my head hurts. are you alright Rita?" he asked, facing Rita slightly.

Rita nodded. She only suffered a couple of scratches here and there, some fur ripped off of her, a small black eye and teeth marks on her tail thanks to Michael's henchmen. "I'm fine honey" she said with a half smile on her muzzle, "you just lay down honey."

Fagin gently placed the injured Dalmatian on the living room couch and gently tucked him in with Ryan's blanket. "good boy, good boy" he said slightly, patting the Dalmatian's head gently. With that, he left the Dalmatian alone with Rita and his friends around him.

Rita sat next to her boyfriend as he slowly began to fall asleep. She was thankful he survived the crash and so did she. The last thing she wants would be a dead boyfriend and a ghostly father of his to come haunt her, thinking it was her fault. She was thinking it was her fault for Ryan to get injured when she heard a distant whistle. It echoed around the room. It wasn't coming from the tv, it was turned off. It was coming from outside even though there was no elevated railroad line above the road outside.

"oh no" she quivered, "he's coming back."

"who?" Francis asked.

The lights in the room began to flicker on and off as a roar of thunder rumbled outside. Everyone shut their eyes, scared out of their wits. The tv turned on all of a sudden and on the screen showed a ghostly looking SP 4-10-2, looking right at Rita. There was a long silence until the ghost spoke to Rita and her friends.

"The Father of Railroading has given you a message. 'This is not the end of your true friend. He is not ready to be reunited with Him. He has a legacy to carry on and share with future generations! He has a life long career ahead of him. This is not your fault Rita. It never has been.' You are a hero to his son. He forgives you."

The tv screen turned off and the lights flickered back on, leaving a shocked Rita, Dodger, Tito, Francis and Einstein sitting in their spots. They remained quiet for a very long time. Francis looked like he was about to faint, while Tito just looked out the window. Rita however let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

Next morning, Ryan's mood was not improved a single bit. Sadness was all he could feel. Seeing the death of his mother was the most terrible sight he had ever seen in his life so far. True she saved him from being defeated by Estelle, by it was still the worst moment of his life. His own mother, killing herself just for him and nothing more. But she did what she had to do, for him, for all of his friends, and for his father. But, as far as he knows for sure, his mother was the only family member of his that was alive. He sniffled sadly as he got up and limped over towards a bowl full of water, taking a long drink from the bowl.

"Ryan? You ok buddy?"

Ryan slowly turned and saw Dodger, looking a bit worried about the Dalmatian's sad face. He just shook his head quietly and sadly, not really in the mood to talk. But he did let out, "No, I'm not" and looked at his own reflection in the bowl. "This is officially the worst day ever. My birthday is coming up soon, I'm in pain from the fight and my mother is dead! DANG IT!" He soon began to cry. So much for having a good time before his birthday. Not only did he receive injuries, but he also lost him mother which made things worse for him. He soon jumped when he felt a hand scratching on his back gently. He looked up and saw Jenny, happily scratching him. "This is Jenny?"

Oliver walked up next to his master. "hey Ryan, I see you've met Jenny. she's really kind isn't she?" he smiled. "I thought I'd bring her over to come and cheer you up a little."

Jenny was thrilled to meet a new dog like Ryan. She had heard of the Dalmatian before, but never met him in person. She gently scratched his back as gentle as she could, not wanting to cause more pain to the poor dog. "I've heard a lot about you little guy" Jenny smiled, "you must've been through a lot of trouble last night. but you're safe now."

Ryan managed to smile a little as Jenny gently hugged him. A small tear fell down his face as he closed his eyes. The hug reminds him about Little Jack a lot. The soft warmth of her arms and the gentle touch that made him feel safe, it felt like he was in the arms of an angel.

"oh good you're still alive!" Einstein shouted with glee as he walked over towards his best friend. "you must've been brave out there fighting off those meanies."

The Dalmatian sniffled as tears rolled down his face and onto the floor. He thought about what his Great Dane friend said to him about being brave. It was true actually. He actually stood up for himself and defeated them one by one, well almost everyone since his mom took down Estelle for him. Though he did get hurt, he still felt proud deep down inside him. The thought made him smile a little, but not a whole lot. "Yeah. You're right. I actually stood up for myself. I showed them my fighting side of me! I actually did something to prove that I'm not a worthless mutt at all!"

"That's right honey" said Rita as she walked up towards her boyfriend. She was glad that her sweetheart was starting to feel a little better, but she knew it wasn't a whole lot like she wished it would be. "You showed them who's boss and you showed them you're a big boy now."

Tito hopped up onto Einstein's head. He was a bit disappointed that he'd missed out all the fun from last night's fight. "Man you finally used my fighting moves, huh? Dude you're bad! You even defeated Estelle for crying out loud" chuckled the little dog.

Rita looked at the Chihuahua with a grin on her face. "Hey Tito, since you won't be busy, think you could go down to the train museum across the river and tell everyone that I'll be 'visiting' them tonight?" She winked at Tito without Ryan even noticing.

The little dog smiled, knowing what she was talking about. "Sure Rita. I'll make sure they'll know." Before Ryan could ask what was going on, the little dog rushed out of the mansion and off to the museum.

"Oh and Tito, if you see some engines named Foxworth, Kyle, Willoughby, Hannah and Buck, tell them I said 'Hi' for me!" Ryan called out to the little Chihuahua as he ran out of sight.

* * *

Later that evening, the entire gang was back at the barge, minus Dodger Rita. They were down at the museum talking to the engines about a plan Rita thought of last night while Ryan was having an unhappy slumber. The rest of the gang decided to throw him the best birthday party ever, with help from his friends in his old neighborhood and the ones down at the LPS' museum. So far everything was going well. The engines were starting to get things ready to start work that morning and even Hannah was starting to send out invitations to engines on tourist railroads and historical societies from around the country to be a part of Ryan's birthday. Ryan looked from Rita's bed to see his friends acting casual. Francis was watching more Hamlet, Tito was listening to some music by the radio, while Einstein was keeping the Dalmatian company.

"You know something Ry?" Einstein said to the autistic canine. He wanted to try and make his best friend smile more since he hate seeing his friend down like this. "When you started living with us, I found a very good friend to hangout with a lot because you're like me. A very sweet person that's always positive about things no matter what, but at times like this, it's just not the you I like. I like the happier side of you and not the sad side of you. You're always happy, smiling, full of joy and so forth no matter what."

Ryan just subsided, still feeling sad about losing his mother. It was kinda odd for him to not feel positive about things, but he's not always positive all the time. "I'm sorry Einy, it's just that I lost a very important person in my life; my mom. She was the only family member I had that was alive. I'm not entirely correct, but I believe my other relatives are dead too."

Einstein listened to his friend carefully and nodded. "Actually, not everyone is dead. We're a family to you if you think about it. All of your friends are a family, including Rita. She's like a family member to you. You're not the only member of your family Ryan, you're a part of ours" smiled the Great Dane, and that did the trick. With his kind words said, Ryan began to smile more as he hugged the old dog warmly. Einstein returned the hug and nuzzled his friend with his nose.

"Thank you Einstein" Ryan said with a smile, still hugging the old dog warmly. "It's good to know that I got a family that are always supportive of me."

"That's what friends are for!" called Francis from Fagin's chair. He heard Einstein and Ryan's conversation while watching Hamlet this whole time. "Friends always stick up for others, especially ones with special needs. True we have no clue of autistic dogs since we don't know any other canines with autism, but we do our best to make sure you're happy and surviving the streets."

There was a long silence except the music coming from Tito's radio.

"Hey Ryan man, what would you like at your birthday party if we held one?" asked Tito, trying to get more info for the birthday party without causing suspicion from the curious Dalmatian. He wanted to know if Ryan would like to have clowns or balloons at his party now and not until the night before his party.

Ryan looked at the little dog with suspicion. Why would Tito ask him a question like that when his birthday is a few days away? Was the whole gang planning on having a birthday party here at the barge or something? Or was there something going on that he doesn't really know about? Fortunately for Tito, Francis and Einstein, Ryan's suspicion dropped and he happily replied, "Well I don't like clowns cause they creep me like those creepy monsters you find under your beds at night or so. Not that we have any, but it's a figure of speech. Balloons sound nice, along with bubbles. For a birthday cake I normally lick the icing and not eat the whole thing, but the cake would be chocolate since I love chocolate!"

The 3 canines nodded their heads, remembering everything the Dalmatian had said.

"Why do you ask?" Ryan asked curiously.

"Oh nothing" lied the 3 canines, grinning a little. From what they know for sure, Ryan was in for a big surprise when his birthday finally arrives.

 **Please review this.  
More chapters coming soon.  
Oliver and Company belongs to (C) Disney.  
Ryan, Shaun, Marlene, Willoughby, Hannah and the Locomotive Preservation Society belongs to me.**


	10. Birthday surprises!

**A New Dalmatian on the Block.  
An Oliver and Company fanfic, starring Dodger, Oliver, Francis, Tito, Einstein, Rita, Georgette, Jenny and many others.**

 **Chapter 10: Birthday surprises!**

After several days of doing nothing while Rita and the others were out and about doing big things, Ryan's birthday finally arrived. It was hard to believe that time flew by real quickly and it certainly was going to be an exciting day. As Dodger looked over at the sleeping Dalmatian from his bed, he thought back at all the good times they've had for the past few weeks or so, from the day he first arrived to today. It certainly was one wild ride for the autistic dog, but he managed to pull himself through somehow. He smiled warmly when Ryan slowly began to wake up. "Happy birthday sleeping beauty!" chuckled Dodger.

"Happy birthday!" said the others, who were already up.

Ryan smiled as he got up and carefully stretch, careful not to cause any pain in his cast covered leg. "Thanks guys. I can't believe I made it this far in life."

"Me too honey bunches" Rita said and gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. "You're now officially 5 years old, from what your friends told me. Now to smooch you 5 times." She started kissing her boyfriend on the lips 5 times, counting them each time she pulled away from her kisses.

The autistic mutt blushed as he was kissed by his sweetheart, before he returned some kisses back and snuggled against the Saluki gently. It was hard to believe that he'd made it so far after all the trouble he'd been. His father being killed in a train wreck, being left alone by his own mother, getting adopted by Little Jack, his old master passing away from a disease, running away from his old neighborhood, moved in with Dodger and the gang, yelled at by Rita, saved from being "put to sleep", dealing with Michael, his henchmen and Estelle, getting himself injured and his mother's recent death. But if he could manage to get through all of those things, he can manage to get through almost anything with help from his friends. He jumped a little when Fagin carefully picked him up and carried him to the scooter.

"Come along everyone, we have a big day for a certain dog" the old man said, giving Ryan a scratch behind the ears as he led the rest of the dogs to the scooter. Because of all of this, Ryan's suspicion came back once more. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he was soon going to find out.

* * *

Filled with excited dogs and a confused Dalmatian, the scooter rolled up towards the parking lot at the Locomotive Preservation Society's museum in Brooklyn, which was full of cars, both old and new. Even the Foxworths' limo was parked infront of the museum. Surprisingly, the building was decorated in banners of all sizes, decorated from the rooftop to the old light poles in the parking lot. There was also a large banner hanging on the Brooklyn Bridge above the tracks that read "Happy Birthday" in bright blue letters with a strange puzzle logo that was painted red, yellow, light blue and dark blue. This made Ryan even more confused, until he finally pieced everything together of what was going on. "You didn't!" he said to Rita and the rest of the gang as he was gently placed on the ground.

"May have!" Rita said with a smirk on her face. She and the others have been behind the whole party preparations for the past few days, along with Ryan's friends, both engines and animals. "We're not going to spoiler any surprises, that's for sure."

The gang walked over towards the museum's yard, where Kyle and Buck were waiting near the viewing platforms. They were both given fresh new coats of paint which gleamed in the morning sun and had birthday flags on top. Next to them was Oliver, Georgette, Jenny, the Foxworths and some of Ryan's friends from his old neighborhood.

"Hey Ryan! Happy birthday." Oliver shouted with glee. That morning, the Foxworths received an invitation to the party which they accepted it and even brought Georgette and Oliver down to hangout with their friends. This gave the orange cat sometime to hang with Dodger and the gang. "How's your leg?"

"Thanks kid. It's alright I guess. Still feel some pain here and there whenever I hit something or so, but either way, I'm just lucky to be alive than dead like my father would normally say to me whenever he returns from a trip" chuckled the Dalmatian lightly. He looked at Buck and Kyle, who were both simmering in the sun. "You guys did all of this?"

Buck let out a fake gasp, pretending to be heart. "Me and Kyle? By ourselves?! Why we would never do such thing without Rita and the others. After all, she had thought about throwing this party for you!"

Ryan was surprised and looked at Rita, who began to blush as bright as a stop sign. "You did all of this... just for me?"

Rita nodded as she looked at her boyfriend. "More or less. Obviously I couldn't get the banners up, get all the supplies together, send out invites to guests across the country and stuff, but I thought of the idea of throwing you a big party because... well, you deserve it. After all the troubles you've went through in life, you deserve a big break."

"Wait, guests from across the country? What do you mean by that?"

Rita nodded her head at Buck, who got on the radio with Willoughby, Hannah and Foxworth not far from the museum.

"Guys, it's time" Buck said on the radio.

"Time for what?" asked Ryan with a hint of confusion. His ears twitched when he heard a lot of whistles and horns in the distance. Only 3 were recognizable, while the rest were not. Then came the sound of chuffing that echoed through the buildings and streets nearby as a huge pillar of smoke flew into the sky.

"It's birthday extravaganza!" Buck and Kyle shouted.

Rushing out from under the Brooklyn Bridge came Foxworth, Hannah and Willoughby with a long line of visiting engines behind them on each track. This made Ryan's eyes grew wider than before. The visitors came in a variety of shapes and sizes, both steam and diesel. They ranged from the small Stephenson's Rocket that came from the Henry Ford Museum in Oakwood, Michigan to the massive Old Maude from Baltimore, Maryland. Most of the engines were from the US, while only a few were from Canada. They include Royal Hudson, Sophia and Bois Roussel.

"SWEET MOTHER OF BEEF JERKY!" Ryan said with wonder. The noise was so loud he covered his ears with the rest of his friends.

"they're so loud I can barely hear myself think!" shouted Hyde as the engines rolled by them.

"that's what I was thinking!" Tito shouted back.

"WHAT?!"

As soon as every visiting engine was in the yard, they all stopped. There was a long silence until the visitors blew their horns and whistles loud and long. The noise echoed everywhere.

"SURPRISE!" everyone shouted with glee.

Rita walked over to her stunned boyfriend. "You look surprised. are you surprised?" she said flirtatiously and closed his jaw.

Ryan began to sniffle with tears of joy rolling down his face. "oh... my... god..." he sniffled, "I cannot believe this! You guys invited these engines here just for me?! I'm speechless! Imeanthisisthegreatestthingthat'severhappenedinmylife! Somanycoolenginesherejustformeandallofmyfriendsgatheredhereto..."

His speech was soon stopped by Patrick, who put a claw over his friend's mouth. "We thought you were speechless?"

"Well they weren't the only ones who invited us!" said a Sierra Railway 4-6-0, "The Locomotive Preservation Society's engines managed to convince our owners to allow us to come down here and attend your birthday party. pretty crazy huh?"

Ryan nodded his head violently! "This is amazing!" he exclaimed. Normally his birthday party would have only his friends, his master and his master's friends gather at his party, but this many engines? Not since he was born and living with his mother and father. "I never really thought I would ever have a party like this again. Reminds me of when I was born. Good times, good times."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Rita said and kissed Ryan on the lips, "Let the party begin!"

Everyone cheered and soon the party began.

* * *

After having a very good breakfast in the museum's cafeteria, Ryan and all his friends were gathered along the railroad on John Street, a couple of blocks away from the station. They were going to witness the "Great Steam Parade", the very first activity to start Ryan's birthday party. This part of the party was suggested by Buck and was agreed to. The parade would start from the steam locomotives to the diesels. Attracted by the whistles and horns, thousands of visitors have attended too, mostly to snap some pictures and take videos of the parade from trackside and some were standing near the waterfront. This made the police come in and make sure that no one gets in the locomotives' way and to control the crowd. When everyone was ready, the parade began.

The first engine to roll past Ryan and his friends was the Stephenson's Rocket that came from the Henry Ford Museum in Oakwood, Michigan. The engine smiled at Ryan as he trundled past him and his friend, with banners decorated on his smokestack. The second steam engine in the parade was the Baltimore and Ohio's Tom Thumb, a replica built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1927 for their "Fair of the Iron Horse" the same year. The original was saved by the LPS in the 19th Century, but since it was in permanent display at the society's museum in Brooklyn, the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland brought their replica of the Tom Thumb to attend Ryan's birthday. The engine looked strange to Dodger and the others, since they've never seen an engine like Tom Thumb before.

"that thing looks like an oversized coffee pot or someone's chimney" Buddy said, watching the engine roll by.

Ryan laughed, "that's what steamers use to look like back then. they come up with strange designed engines to pull trains in the 19th Century."

Then came John Bull in the parade, another replica built by the Pennsylvania Railroad's Juniata Shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania for the New York World's Fair in 1940. When the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, PA received Ryan's birthday event invite, the museum sent John Bull to Hoboken, via flatcar like most of the old engines that weren't fast enough on mainline tracks these days. The next engine was Sierra, the Sierra Railway #3, with 3 old Sierra Railway coaches and a caboose. The 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler stared in hundreds and hundreds of tv shows and movies, including Petticoat Junction, Little House on the Prairie tv series and many others. She was all dressed up in birthday banners and American flags. She whistled happily as she rolled by Ryan and his friends, making some of them cover their ears.

Next to appear, was Penny the Pennsylvania Railroad 1223. Built by the Juniata Shops in 1905, Penny was set aside for preservation, along with her friend Kaitlin the PRR 8063. She was featured in the 1969 Disney film "Hello Dolly" and had been operating on the Strasburg Railroad since 1965. Like most of the engines, Penny was dressed up in banners and streamers. Following not far behind her was Kaitlin. Originally numbered 8063, the 4-4-2 E7 Atlantic was renumbered to resemble her famous brother Speeder the 7002 when he was undergoing maintenance at the LPS's museum in the late 1930s. Up until 1988, Kaitlin was the "7002" until the LPS requested the Strasburg Railroad to return the 4-4-2 to her original number and they did.

Behind them came Peter, the PRR K4 1361. Built by the Juniata Shops in 1918, Peter was known as "the Pride of Altoona" when he was restored in 1987 after decades of being on display at Horseshoe Curve. Peter's sister Sasha the 3768 was originally planned to be steamed up for the party, but Peter was chosen cause he was heading to York, PA for several excursions, and raced Penny and Kaitlin all the way to Hoboken with Strasburg the Great Western Railway #90, a 2-10-0 Decapod built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1924 for the GWRR in Colorado, who was crawling behind Peter. Sold to the Strasburg Railroad in the 1960s and was originally named Sugar Cane, Strasburg was named after the railroad because she liked the name better than her original name and had been hauling tourist trains since her arrival on the tourist railroad.

The 9th engine in the parade was one of many engines that the dogs had never seen before, Old Maude the B&O 0-6-6-0 Mallet. Built in 1900, Old Maude was America's first articulated steam locomotive, mostly used for switching and freight service. After his retirement, the engine was sold to the Locomotive Preservation Society who kept the engine in good condition until being sold to the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Even though his top speed is 21 mph, Old Maude is still an interesting engine to Ryan and his friends' eyes. Next came Minnie the Baldwin Locomotive Works 26. Owned by the National Park Service, Minnie operates at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania. This was the first big event she had ever been to since being traded by Jerry Jacobson to the NPS for Canadian National 4-6-0 #1551.

"sheesh" muttered Rita as Millie steamed by her with her bell ringing happily, "that girl looks kinda small compared to the others we've seen so far." She looked over at Ryan who was smiling as big as his own face and his tail thumping against the ground. Smiling warmly, Rita looked back at the parade.

Then came Sophia the Canadian Pacific 1201. Built by the Angus Shops in 1944 for the CPR in Canada, the G5a is owned by the National Museum of Science & Technology in Ottawa, Ontario and has operated several rail tours in Canada including Expo 86 in Vancouver. She also made an appearance in "Odyssey of the Pacific" with Mickey Rooney as her engineer. Traveled all the way from Chattanooga, Tennessee was Dakota the Southern Railway 4501. This 2-8-2 Mikado was built by Baldwin in 1911 and ran on the Southern Railway until 1948. Eventually the Southern leased him from the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum for use in their popular steam program which was later handed over to Norfolk Southern when the Southern Railway and the Norfolk & Western merged in 1982. His green paint glistened in the sunlight as he steam past Ryan and his friends with his bell ringing and whistle blowing. His paint was so shiny and clean, you could see your own reflection for crying out loud.

Coming all the way from Fort Wayne, Indiana was Nick the Nickel Plate Road 765. Built by Lima in 1944 for the NKP, Nick is one of several steam excursion stars that still operates today. The engine pulled passenger and freight trains for the Nickel Plate Road, until his retirement in 1958 and eventually was put on display in Fort Wayne as a replacement locomotive for the scrapped 767. His mars light swirled around as he rolled towards the station, with his banners whipping around in the wind and whistle blowing loudly.

Next came General the Western & Atlantic 4-4-0. Built by the Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor in Paterson, New Jersey in 1855 for the Western & Atlantic Railroad, the locomotive is widely known for being part of the Great Locomotive Chase during the American Civil War when Union spies stole the locomotive in an attempt to cripple the Confederate rail network. Saved for preservation, the old engine was used at countless events across the US, before being purchased by the Chicago Division Railroad in the mid 1970s for tourist excursion.

Behind the old 4-4-0 came Royal Hudson the CPR 2860 who was built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1938. Like Foxworth, 2 of Royal Hudson's relatives were used during for the Royal Train in 1939, one hauled the main train, while the other was a pilot engine. Since Royal Hudson deserved a break in Canada, his owners accepted the invite to the party and brought along Sophia and Bois Roussel with him. His paintwork shown brightly in the sun, making everyone cover their eyes from the shiny boiler jacket.

Slowly following Royal Hudson was Bois Roussel, a former London and North Eastern Railway A1 Peppercorn built in Doncaster in October of 1948 for high speed passenger service. Called Bois by most engines, he was the pride of British Railways and hauled all sorts of trains until being withdrawn from service in 1965. When he was retired from service, Bois was sold to a private individual in France and was put on display on the owner's property outside of Paris, France. While staying in France, Bois picked up a French accent and was given great care while on display in the garden. Somewhere in the early 1980s, Bois was sold to an American individual who wanted to use the A1 for a couple of rail tours, one of them includes Expo 86 in Vancouver, British Columbia. After a year long rebuild, Bois headed off to Expo 86 for his public debut with his new accessories such as a bell, air brakes, American couplers, a 3 chime whistle, headlight and cowcatcher. After the Expo, the A1 made a couple of more excursions all over America and Canada.

Next to appear, was Reading the Reading 2102 from Pennsylvania. She was one of 30 4-8-4s that were converted from 30 I-10sa 2-8-0 Consolidation locomotives from 1945 through 1947. Starting in 1945 the Reading took 30 of its 2-8-0s and converted them with a little help from Baldwin Locomotive Works into 30 new 4-8-4 locomotives that were numbered 2100-2129 and classified them as T1s. Reading had quite a career she had after being retired from the Reading Railroad. She had been through a series of makeovers and pulled hundreds of excursions in the northeast, before being sold to Andy Muller's Blue Mountain and Reading in Pennsylvania.

Then came a former Cotton Belt L1 4-8-4 Northern named Joshua, built by the railroad's Pine Bluff Shops in 1937. He was originally numbered 818 but when the SP leased him and some of his other relatives on the El Paso line he was renumbered 4487 and given some SP number indicators, Barco speed recorders and silver smokebox doors. Retired in 1959, Vern and a couple other members of his class were saved from scrap by preservation groups across Texas and Arkansas. Joshua however went to California where he was put on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. Just a few months ago, Joshua came out of the shops under his own power after a 2 year rebuild in California and this was one of his biggest debuts.

Finally the diesels started to roll in behind Reading, and the first diesel to come was a brand new EMD F59PH, one of the newest locomotives ever built. It was a strange engine to Ryan since he'd never seen an engine like that one before. The engine's Agence métropolitaine de transport paintjob shown brightly in the morning sun as he rolled by, followed closely by a Reading Railroad Alco C630 named Century. Originally built for freight duties on the Reading, Century works with Reading on the Blue Mountain and Reading whenever he visits the BM&R since he's owned by a historical society in Reading, PA.

"Man, how many locomotives are there?" asked Ryan as he watched Century roll by. He looked down and saw 1 more locomotive to come, which was the General Motors FT Demonstrator named Demo who came all the way from St Louis. Being one of the first successful diesel locomotives in America, Demo has been chosen to be preserved because of this and has been kept in good hands ever since he's been donated.

As soon as Demo rolled by everyone, the entire crowd began to head back to the museum, with a very happy Ryan leading the crowd. This was a very good start to his party. So many locomotives attending this party all for him was very flattering in a way. Apparently they knew his father or something.

"Man that was a lot of trains" Oliver muttered to himself, a little deaf from all the whistles and horns.

Ryan chuckled with joy, "There's plenty of more fun where that came from kid! This party boy is more happier than a back pipe guy in his home country! WOO!"

Rita smiled as she followed her boyfriend back to the museum with the others. Her plan was working, and quickly too. "That's my Ryan baby" she said quietly.

* * *

For the rest of the morning and mid afternoon, the engines were displayed around the yard so that visitors and guest to the party get a closer look at the engines. The engines told the visitors all sorts of stories and events that they participated in and what they did back in the days when they roamed on their home rails. From time to time, the visiting engines took turns hauling tourist trains up and down the East River with coaches that they brought with them or the ones the LPS owns. It was really exciting to see big mainline locomotives at work hauling passenger trains up and down the river. Sometimes, the engines would double head or triple head the trains to make things more interesting for the guests.

While the party was going on, Ryan and Rita spent some time talking to each other, giving each other loves and so forth as they watched their friends have a great time with others. It certainly was the most happiest moment of the Dalmatian's life. "Rita, I never really thought you would do something like this for me" he said to the Saluki softly.

"Well" shrugged Rita, "I had to make it up for you for not only your loss, but also for all those gifts you gave to me. I was gonna try and convince the Foxworths to have a party at their place, but that would be too boring for you or something, so I thought about all of this and... it all worked out. Pretty crazy huh?"

Ryan nodded in reply. There was something bothering him that he wanted to get off his chest, but he wasn't sure how Rita would react. Taking a deep breath, he finally spoke shyly. "Ummmm... Rita? I was wondering if... well, ever since we started dating, I think our relationship has gone up so high that we outta be a couple... so... would you... bemymate?"

Rita's eyes grew wide with surprise. She was totally caught off guard and was not expecting her boyfriend to ask if she could be his mate. After all these days of dating, snuggling, giving each other hugs and kisses, getting to spend time together out on the streets of New York, Ryan wanted to be with her more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. The thought of actually being mates with someone was totally unbelievable for not only her but for her sweetheart aswell. The Saluki's eyes began to water as she let out a soft smile. This must've been Ryan's way of saying "thank you" to her for throwing him the best birthday party ever.

"Yes!" she shouted with glee and gave Ryan a tight hug! More tears fell down from her face as she closed her eyes softly. "So, having a good birthday so far?"

Ryan chuckled as he kept hugging his mate softly. "You have no idea how much joy is in my body right now, and babe I've got a feeling it's going to get better than President George Washington signing the Constitution in 1787, probably."

"You're so silly honey" Rita cooed. She laid her head on Ryan's shoulder softly and began rubbing his paw with hers. It truly was starting to be a great day for the both of them, and things were going to be greater now that they were mates.

Ryan's smile soon faded away when a thought struck him, "Rita, do you think us being mates will work out?"

The Saluki just smiled. "Honey, if us dating has been working out well, then us being mates will work out well. You're officially my rock and always have been my rock no matter what. Even since I first met you that night, a very tiny part of me felt like I had a crush on you. True we had that fight the night before I saved you, but the point is this; it'll all work out, no matter what. No matter how many punches we get, no matter how high we're up on a mountain or so, us being mates will work out."

Ryan's smile came back as he thought of those kind words. He loved Rita and would never go on without her no matter who he's with. To him, she's like his mother; kind, loyal, sweet, loving, gentle and protective around him. She was his rock and would never trade her away for anything else, not even a very special train or a big dog bone as big as an articulated steamer. "Well then, I'm starting to have very big confidents now thanks to you."

"Hey that's what sweethearts are for. Just think, maybe we might actually start a family together, then you can help carry on your father's legacy someday."

"Indeed we might, this world has plenty of surprises to come!" chuckled Ryan.

The two of them kissed each other before walking back to their friends to have some more fun before the last birthday activities come.

* * *

Around 4:30 pm, it was time for the autistic dog to open his presents. A porter came in, pushing a trolley cart full of presents. They were all wrapped in colorful wrapping paper with ribbons and bows on top of them. Limping forward and wincing in pain a little from his cast covered leg, Ryan began to open his presents in front of everyone happily. Rita smiled as she watched him open his gifts he received. She saw Shaun at the corner of her eye, but suddenly disappeared after he gave her a warm smile. The Saluki didn't say a word as she continued watching.

There was all sorts of wrapping paper all over the viewing platform as Ryan opened up his gifts. He barked excitedly when he received an engineer's hat with his name written around the badge above it that had a dog bone in the center of the round badge that was from the Locomotive Preservation Society's security dog team. The Dalmatian received a photograph of his father with Buck, Kyle, Hannah, Willoughby and Foxworth, signed by the LPS' president Steve Lerroey. The next big thing Ryan got was a big photo album of trains that also came from the LPS' president that showed all the trains the museum owns and operates, including visiting engines that they've operated over the years including a CB&Q 2-10-2 that's now in the museum's collection. He was amazed when he gotten himself some ear muffs from Francis, and the stress ball he got from Rita.

When all of the presents were unwrapped, Ryan thought that's all he got, until he felt something slip onto his neck. It was a bright blue collar with a gold license on it that read the Foxworths' address. The license had an interesting train design to it, which made it look really cool. Ryan was speechless! He was adopted by the Foxworths!

"you're now a part of the family, Ryan" Jenny said happily. She was excited to have another dog pet to herself and a new playmate for Oliver and Georgette.

Ryan barked with excitement and licked all over his new master's face with glee. He never really thought he would be living in a fancy mansion like he wanted to and not live in a smelly, creepy, old looking barge he spent the last few weeks in. As much as he loved his friends and his girlfriend Rita, he didn't like living poor and in a place full of disrepair, which was a secret he kept between him and Tito. Rita and the others somehow managed to convinced the Foxworths to adopt him, but he wasn't sure how. But he didn't care.

The last thing was the birthday cake. Though it wasn't what Ryan really had in mind. Instead of a small size cake he often got while growing up on his birthdays, the cake was a medium sized chocolate cake and had a photo of him, Rita, Dodger, Einstein, Francis, Oliver and Tito on it, baked by a local baker in New York City.

"wow" Sierra said in a siding nearby, "that's a pretty cute cake. I want one that has me on it."

Kaitlin chuckled nearby. "but then someone will eat you and you wouldn't be in anymore movies" she joked.

All the engines laughed, but were soon hushed by Nick. Everyone remained quiet as they got ready to sing "Happy Birthday" to Ryan, though this one was different than a usual birthday song. Nick blew his guest whistle first and everyone hummed the same tone the whistle was. Then he blew his actual whistle and everyone hummed the same tone that whistle was and began to sing.

"Happy birthday to you, you live in New York, your father was a legend, you will be one too!" the engines sang.

When Ryan blew out the candles, everyone cheered and the engines blew their horns and whistles.

The Foxworths, Fagin, their dogs, and all the engines' owners and crews soon began to have slices of the chocolate cake happily. Ryan ate almost his entire slice of cake with icing covering his mouth. He snuggled up with Rita on a beautifully restored coach John Bull brought with him to the party. The 2 of them looked at each other and kissed, before snuggling their heads against each other. Everyone was having a good time together.

Sadly the party was over around 7:38 pm and it was time for everyone to go home. Most of the visiting engines like Nick would be staying to haul several excursions for a while until heading home a few days, if not weeks, later. The engines that were owned by the LPS meanwhile began to help clean up all the decorations and mess that was laying around. Ryan was both happy and sad that the party was over, but he knew parties can't last all night unless it was New Years Eve.

Einstein moaned, "Please don't leave us Ryan. We need you."

"Einy, he's not moving away from the city. He's moving in with Oliver remember?" Rita chuckled, knowing what Einstein was thinking about. "Besides, it's for the best. Plus we still get to visit him, like we do with Oliver from time to time."

Ryan nodded his head with a smile. "Yeah Einy, and don't worry, I can come visit you guys too. I maybe a part of the Foxworths now, but we're still a family no matter what, like you said Einstein. We're a family now..." he looked at Rita, "...and we'll always will be."

After the gang said their goodbyes, the Dalmatian hopped into the Foxworths' limo and left the museum with a smile. Ryan wasn't sure, but he thought he saw 2 Dalmatians looking at him as he left the museum.

 **Please review this.  
Last chapter coming soon.  
Oliver and Company belongs to (C) Disney.  
Ryan, Ryan's friends, the engines and the Locomotive Preservation Society belongs to me.**


	11. Safe at last

**A New Dalmatian on the Block.**

 **An Oliver and Company fanfic, starring Dodger, Oliver, Francis, Tito, Einstein, Rita, Georgette, Jenny and many others.**

 **Chapter 11: Safe at last.**

For the past 2 days, there was lots of things going on at the Foxworths now that Ryan had be adopted by the rich family, mostly taking care of the Dalmatian himself and getting his very own room organized. Since he didn't have his own room yet, the injured dog had to sleep in the living room since it was quiet and so he doesn't disturb anyone's slumber. With summer break still going on for Jenny, she and Oliver made sure their new family member is welcomed warmly and did their very best to get Ryan healed. Surprisingly, the autistic dog learned a lot of manners before he even met the Foxworths and everyone was surprised by how well he fitted in. They didn't have to train him or anything at all. Though he still felt guilty about leaving his mate and his friends behind at the barge, he was enjoying himself greatly here at the mansion. Not only that, he and Rita's relationship was growing bigger and bigger than anyone expected. They had been going out than ever before and there were rumors that the two of them were going to start a family soon. But those were just rumors.

"Hold still Ryan, you're almost done" said Jenny cheerfully in her own bathroom 2 days after Ryan's party. The young girl was giving the newly adopted Dalmatian a nice, warm bath, being as careful as she could when she got to the Dalmatian's cast that's still on his leg.

Ryan meanwhile was having a good ol' time! He enjoyed the nice soft loofah being rubbed around him full of shampoo and water. He panted happily as he stood still for the little girl.

Rita was outside of the bathroom waiting for her knight in shining armor to come out. She was just stopping by to see how her lover was doing. There was tons of stuff she took that day and since she was done with work, she might aswell go see her true love just to be sure that he was happy. There were even rumors that Rita might join the Foxworths someday so that she could be as close to her mate as ever, but again those were just rumors.

After a while, Ryan's bath was completed and the Dalmatian was dried off before he walked out of the bathroom. His smooth fur was spotless, his face looked as handsome as a male role model and his paw nails were nicely trimmed by Mrs. Foxworth, making Rita's jaw drop as she stared in awe at her mate. Ryan smirked playfully and started posing for her mate. "You look excited, are you excited?" He said as he wagged his butt at Rita, who simply can't speak at the moment.

"Gah…" she said in awe. She thought her mate was as handsome as a role model. As Ryan limped by her, she felt his backside slide against her neck as he flirted with her. The Saluki felt touched and flopped onto the floor with a smile on her face. Well it seems Ryan changed during his time at the Foxworths.

Ryan laid on top of Jenny's bed carefully, not wanting to hit anything against his cast and prepared himself to be brushed. This was one of his favorite things about the Foxworths after getting a bath. He would just lay on the bed or floor and just let the little girl do her magic. Oliver told him the brush feels wonderful and he was right. The soft grooming of Ryan's fur makes him feel like he's being rubbed by his mother, who he still misses her a lot. Though deep down inside him he hated his mom for leaving him by himself, but he loved her more than he hated her.

"There! All done" Jenny said a little later once the grooming was done. As soon as she put his railroad bandana, his license collar and his flea collar back on her male dog, she pulled out a treat from her pocket and gave it to the Dalmatian.

Ryan's eyes lit up when he saw the treat and gently took it away from his master. He was thankful his teeth weren't shattered from the battle with Michael and his henchmen or else he wouldn't be able to eat the crunchy treats he would get for being a good dog. After he was done with his treat, he gave Jenny a lick on the face and took Rita to his room so they could hangout.

"You look wonderful, Ryan" Rita whispered into her mate's ear.

"Nuh uh" Ryan chuckled, "you're more wonderful than me cause you're beautiful and attractive. Even more than 'Miss World Champ' in my book."

Rita blushed and chuckled slightly. Ryan was referring to Georgette, who was busying herself in her room just to ignore the fact that Rita was in the house and another dog that WAS one of Dodger's gang members was with her. She knew the Dalmatian was always careful when being around the French Poodle just so he doesn't get scared of her yelling and to avoid another meltdown which would really be terrible.

"You know she doesn't mean to cause any harm, right?" Oliver said, walking up to his canine friends. He was just getting back after having a nice warm lunch in the kitchen. Since Ryan started living with him, the orange cat gave him a lot of respect to make the autistic dog feel welcomed to the family.

Ryan laughed, "Of course I do. She's just not use to change like me being here, but she'll get over it. I've dealt with change myself and it's hard for me sometimes."

Oliver tilted his head to the side slightly. He was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well" Ryan began, "like other people who have Autism, I may respond in a variety of ways, including withdrawal, repetitive behaviors, tantrums, or even aggression. Thankfully, sometimes, others will tell me before ahead of time so that I know what to expect before that happens. If a person tells me of the change that's going on, then I'll feel reassured about what'll happen next. If not, then you might see me respond in those ways probably or I get scared or worrisome."

"You have Autism?!" Oliver was shocked. He didn't know his new friend was Autistic. "I didn't know that!"

Ryan chuckled, "That's ok kid. It happens to me sometimes."

When the 3 of them reached Ryan's very own room, they stared in awe at the beauty of the room. The room was very spacious, plenty of room enough for Ryan to play with his toy trains. A large fireplace was directly in front of a large luxurious bed across the room from it, with pillows and blankets already on top of it waiting to be used by the Autistic dog. A bookshelf was placed near his bed which was already full of train books that came directly from the Locomotive Preservation Society or from libraries that didn't need them anymore but mostly from the LPS. A large tv set was placed near his bed along with an interesting night light that looked like a railroad crossing with lights and a crossbuck, which Ryan couldn't wait to try out that night! On the walls around him were pictures of trains of all sorts that were, again, donated from the LPS just for Ryan. There was a picture of Ryan, Dodger and the gang that stood on a nightstand next to his train lamp that he also received, which made Ryan smile even more.

"Wow" said the Dalmatian in awe at his own room. He walked around the whole room in amazement. "This truly feels like heaven to me. I don't know if I deserve this or not."

"Of course you do honey" Rita hugged her lover, "you do deserve this. You've been through alot and it's time you get the biggest break of your life. We still get to date of course, you don't have to stay in the barge and you get to hangout with us whenever you want."

Oliver began to rub against Ryan's legs softly. "Yeah. It would actually be a shame if you didn't join us. You're like a brother to me, like Dodger. A brother that I never had and truly love, in a friendly way not in a love love way."

Ryan laughed and gave Oliver a high five while he gives Rita a lick on the cheek. "Thank you so much! I still don't know how to repay you Rita."

"Please, being mates with you is all I ever want" Rita said softly.

Ryan gave Rita a big kiss on the lips for 5 seconds before he got up on his bed carefully. "Rita, I think we make the greatest couple ever."

"Of course we do!" Rita grinned playfully. She hopped up onto the bed and the two of them began to snuggle together. "I love you, Ry!"

"I love you too, Rita!" Ryan smiled and laid his head on top of Rita's.

The two of them snuggled and snuggled for a full hour until it was time for Rita to go back to the barge. The Saluki gave Ryan a loving kiss and promised to visit him everyday whenever she gets a chance before she hurried away back to the barge. Ryan watched Rita hurry away from the front window and gave her a howl/whistle "goodbye". He watched until she was out of sight and limped away to the kitchen to eat his dinner.

"I still can't believe you are going to be living here!" Georgette snorted. "Of all the places you could be living in and you wanted to be here?!"

Ryan rolled his eyes and smirked. "Come on Georgette, you don't think you won't need my help someday, do you?"

Georgette was shocked, "Me? Needing your help?! Hmph!"

Oliver chuckled next to his Dalmatian friend. He thought Ryan's teasing was funny since he knew he was just messing with the French Poodle.

Ryan looked down at Oliver and gave him a wink. When their bowls full of their dinner set down infront of the 3 pets, they all happily ate their dinner until there was nothing left in the bowls. The warm taste of dog food in the Dalmatian's mouth was delicious as he munched it down in pieces. It truly does feel like heaven, but he's not dead yet!

After dinner the 3 pets did their usual thing, Georgette would be in her room being pretty, Oliver would play with Jenny, while Ryan just stayed in his room watching train documentaries on TV and read train books. As Ryan watched documentaries on his own tv set and reading his train books, he began to look back at all the things that happened to him for the past few weeks since he ran away from Little Jack's home. He laughed at some of the events that happened, he frowned a little, shuttered some, but he smiled at most of them, especially when Rita told him that she loves him.

"Thank you father" he said, looking at the painting of his father above the fireplace. "If it wasn't for you, I'd probably never meet all my best friends and my true love Rita. May your legacy carry on in my paws forever. Always. Take care dad, and rest in piece. Tell mom I love her. Forever."

Soon it was time to hit the hay as the Dalmatian put his book away neatly and carefully. While he had been living in his new home, Ryan had shown the Foxworths many tricks up his paw such as carefully carrying stuff without getting drool on stuff, change the channel on the tv remote, fixing the tv antennas and so forth, making the whole family impressed. Heck, he even impressed Georgette a little, but he impressed Winston the most. Some of them might think of Ryan as a big helper, but he would mostly stay out of the way just so he doesn't screw anything up or anything. Limping cautiously, he jumped up onto his bed, laid his head on the pillows and covered himself up with his blankets, with his blanky Dodger gave him being the top one.

"Ahhh" he sighed, "this is the life."

As he began to drift off to a deep sleep with his tv still on, Jenny quietly came in to turn his nightlight on. She smiled softly as she saw Ryan sleeping peacefully. The little girl turned on his nightlight, which blinked its red lights like a real railroad crossing would, and softly kissed Ryan's head. "Good boy. Welcome to the family Ryan" she whispered before leaving the room and shutting the door softly.

* * *

Back at Fagin's boat, Rita was just about to hit the hay herself as she listened to Fagin telling her and the others a bedtime story. She smiled as she listened to the story quietly. Although some of the guys were disappointed Ryan was now part of the Foxworths, Rita was glad her lover was happy where he was and can still date despite him being at the mansion. It had been a wild, bumpy ride for the Saluki for the past couple of weeks but it was all worth it and interesting. "Always will be together, no matter what" she whispered to herself as she looked at the empty spot beside her.

"Do you think Ryan is going to be alright?" Dodger asked the Saluki. He was starting to miss Ryan like the others do. The autistic dog had been a big help when he was around and would've begged him to stay with them. But if that's what he wanted, then that's what he gets. Secretly Dodger was angry the Dalmatian couldn't stay, but he couldn't stay mad at his friend forever.

Rita nodded, knowing that Dodger was upset about Ryan leaving. "He'll be fine with the Foxworths, Dodge" she answered. "We'll still be kept in good contact with him and I still get to date him. But who knows, maybe someday I might move in with them just to be closer with my love."

Dodger grinned his trademark grin. "If you say so, Chica Rita" he chuckled and drifted off into a deep sleep.

Rita rolled her eyes with a smirk on her face. She looked over at the toy train she gave Ryan days before his birthday and hugged it. "Look out world, there's a new Dalmatian on the block" she whispered and slowly fell asleep herself. This was going to be an interesting life ahead of her and the others.

 **The end.**

 _ **Whew! Another story of Ryan and Company done! What a journey huh? Sorry it took so long to finish. Like "Ryan and Company", I was busy thinking of ideas, settings, life was getting at me and stuff, along with writer block! Gah, I hate writer block! But anyways, another story of Ryan and his friends completed. Stay tune for more stories, both short and long, of Ryan, Rita and all of their friends, both animals, humans and trains. Next story to come will be "Carrying on a Legacy". Thank you all for the support, kindness and views. Stay strong and keep your dreams alive. See you soon. ;) Fan art is allowed of course, as long as it's not negative or anything bad (like mass murder or anything like that). Also if you're making fan art, please let me know and/or link me to the art piece. Plus don't forget to credit me for the character Ryan or something like that.  
Have fun reading you guys and gals!**_

 **Ryan, Shaun and Marlene belongs to me.  
Oliver and Company belongs to (C) Disney.  
Please review this story.**

Alternative ending. ;)  
Sean: Mom, wake up mom! You're dreaming again! It's Christmas morning!  
Rita: *yawning* I'm getting up, I'm getting up young man. Where's your father?  
Sean: Downstairs with Uncle Shaun and Aunt Marlene. I thought you said he was dead?  
Rita: He is. He's been dead sweetie. *walks with her son down to the foyer, gasps in awe and wonder* Shaun! Marlene! How?! How did you both manage to come back?!


End file.
